


DC Legends Soulmate AU

by GachMoBrea



Series: Changing Things Up [1]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: American Accent, Armageddon, Bad Plans, Barry Allen - Freeform, Betrayal, Bond Discovery, Bonds, Bounty Hunter, Building Walls, Bullets, But only by the people who died in the show, Capture, Child Abduction, Cold gun, Confusing Tags, Dark Thoughts?, Death, Episode Related, Feelings, Feels?, Follows the episodes, Hate & Angry Thoughts, He has a lot of anger, I need better tags, Insults, Jax could be a great Rogue, Leonard Snart POV, Manipulation, Mick & Snart Fight, Mild Kissing, Multi, Negative Thoughts, Per Degaton - Freeform, References to Child Abuse, Rescue, Rip gets a proper beat down, Sara Is Very Perceptive, Science, Snart Accepts Sara, Snart hates Raymond, Snart hates Rip, Soulmates - Alternate Universe, Stealing, Sub-Plot Twist, Tags that should go with EACH Episode, There are just too many..., Threats, Time Pirates!, Vodka, Warring Emmotions, added scenes, fathers, gun - Freeform, hostage, l'll have to add more Tags later..., mentions of torture, my version, resignation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-06-04 17:13:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 48,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6667399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a person comes into the world, they have an invisible marker on the back of both of their hands, called Bond-Marks, that will guide them to their Bond-Mate; some people preferred to call them Soulmates. No on else can see the Bond-Marks, only the owner of the Marks, but when two people who were Bond-Mates touched, it was obvious.<br/>There were six different types of Bonds, but one type of Bond is thought to be an Urban Legend:<br/>The Infinite-Bond. Where a single individual was capable of Bonding with anyone, including the already Bonded.<br/>There were only a few documented accounts over the centuries and most people considered it a fairy tale for children.</p><p>When Rip Hunter tells them they're going to be Legends, Leonard Snart knew he already was one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. FlashBack & Pilot Ep.

**Author's Note:**

> When a person comes into the world, they have an invisible marker on the back of both of their hands, called Bond-Marks, that will guide them to their Bond-Mate; some people preferred to call them Soulmates. No on else can see the Bond-Marks, only the owner of the Marks, but when two people who were Bond-Mates touched, it was obvious.  
> There were six different types of Bonds:  
> * The UnBonded, those who have not met their Bond-Mates yet.  
> * There is the regular Bond, where two people meet and realize they are Mates and move on from there. [Not all Bonds end in marriage or happily ever afters.]  
> * There were a few, rarer, Multi-Bonds, where three to four people Bonded together.  
> * If the person never gets to meet their Bond-Mate before they die, they feel the loss and suffer from a Shattered-Bond.  
> * If they have Bonded and then their Bond-Mate dies, they suffer from a Broken-Bond.  
> * There is one other type of Bond that is thought to be an Urban Legend:  
> The Infinite-Bond. This was a single individual who was capable of Bonding with anyone, including the already Bonded. There were only a few documented accounts over the centuries and most people considered it a fairy tale for children.
> 
> When Rip Hunter tells them they're going to be Legends, Leonard Snart knew he already was one.
> 
> Follows the Episodes, but is much shorter (and plays out in the view of the AU).  
> *{I decided to skip over "The Flash" series connections and go straight for "DC Legends." There's a small Flashback of how Leonard figured out what kind of Bond he had, but that's it. Although, I might make mention to other past events later on...}*

***FlashBack***

When Leonard Snart was old enough to understand what the invisible markings on the back of his hands meant, he made it a point to research it. While ditching school one day, he snuck into a library and stole a book about Bond Marks and their possible meanings. He was surprised when his markings weren't even mentioned in the thick book. Sneaking in the second time was easier than the first. He returned the book and took three more, this time hiding out in the library to look through them. Still, there was no mention of his marks. Frustrated, he decided to cut out the middle man and researched it on the library's computer. His fingers flew across the keys as he kept an eye out for the librarian. The mouse clicked 'Search' and he couldn't believe the articles that came up. No one had two infinity symbols on the backs of their hands. Those kind of Bond-Marks were an Urban Legend.   
Then why were they so obviously on Leonard's hands?

\---PRESENT---

When Snart woke up on that roof his senses were filled with nearby Bonds. It made his stomach churn. He saw Stein, felt his familiar Multi-Bond. The one in the metal suit and the blonde woman had Broken Bonds. There was a Multi-Bond kid next to and connected to Stein and he knew the feel of Mick's Shattered-Bond anywhere. The other couple had a Bond he had never felt before. It was old and new at the same time. By the time the Brit spoke up, his Broken Bond pouring out of him, Snart wanted nothing more then to get off that roof.  
Rip Hunter went on with his spiel about saving the future while Snart forced down the Bond that tried to reach the other man. He must've touched him during the kidnapping, it only taking a brief touch of perhaps his exposed wrist or neck when the other man was moving him.   
"Kendra and I reincarnate," the guy of the Bonded couple explains to the group. Reincarnation, that would explain the odd feeling of their Bond.  
"Yeah, I've done that," adds the Blonde. Well, that's interesting. Snart briefly wonders whether her Bond is actually Broken. Maybe whoever she Bonded with is still alive but they have to re-form the Bond to mend the break.  
But curiosity isn't going to keep him with this nightmare group.  
"Hero ain't on my résumé," and hanging out in close quarters with a bunch of different Bond-Mates wasn't his idea of a good time.  
Then Rip showed him his City on fire and he couldn't say no. Lisa lived here. The first person he, himself, chose to Bond with would be in danger and he wasn't about to let that happen. 

Snart might be willing to "save the world" as Rip put it, be he knew his partner wasn't going to be too keen on the idea.  
"Can't believe you'd think of hooking up with the Englishman."  
Yeah, he figured Mick would say as much, but he had ways of convincing the other man. It wasn't necessarily one-sided either. The possibility of gaining a few priceless treasures while saving his sister and City from utter destruction would be a welcomed bonus.   
Snart stands and walks close to his partner, reaching out with their Bond he has allowed to form over the years of their partnership. He almost touches his shoulder, but thinks better of it. Their connection always proved to have a calming effect on the other man. He finishes explaining his plan.  
"You wanna be in, I'm in, but I'm not going to be anyone's hero."   
Snart smiles. Sometimes having this ability came in handy.

Snart has to admit, if only to himself, the time ship was impressive. The things he could do with it if he knew how it worked...

After the jump his head is trying to split open. The other's Bonds are surrounding him, wrapping around him like a blanket, trying to reach him without touch.   
He scrunches his face for a second, forcing his mind to focus, then releases, mask firmly back in place.   
Rip doesn't need them for this mission, it's merely information gathering and Snart's okay with that. At least, he is for the first few hours, then he's bored and eager to follow Sara's lead to the bar.  
At the bar Snart isn't wearing his gloves. It's a foolish mistake on his part. He doesn't tense when Mick's hand brushes his. The Bond between them hums, but he knows his partner won't think anything about it. After someone suffers from a Shattered-Bond, their ability to notice other Bonds is weak.   
When Sara goes to hand him her beer, he moves his hand so that she 'just' misses touching him. He smiles at her tightly, glad that she can't feel the sad energy of a missed Bond.   
Then Sara gets into a fight and he's obliged to join in. He uses the frustrated energy from the Bonds that are trying to form with the men he's punching to hit them harder. Each blow that makes contact with their face revs up the Bond, but Snart's been holding such things back for too long to let them make anything concrete. Their attackers are out cold by the time they're done, so they won't even notice.

After the bar fight, and a new round of beers for the road, they head back to the ship. Snart can feel something off. He can't place it, but it must be coming from Rip. Then they get closer and they see someone firing at their fellow "Legends." Mick rams into the enemy with their stolen car.

Once far away from Boba, Rip's lies are laid out for all to see.  
"Will you people please stop hitting me!"   
'Oh, please don't' Snart thinks, 'It makes being on this crew entertaining.'  
He might have to re-think the potential of these people.  
"So...We're like the opposite of Legends."   
'Speak for yourself, kid,' Snart can't help but feel amused at the situation. One second he isn't the only Legend, the next he's one-of-a-kind again.  
"Ditto the arsonist."   
Well, well, Stein agreeing with Mick was something Snart hadn't thought possible.  
Rip shares the story of his Broken-Bond and it fills the room with his oppressive sadness. Even Snart isn't immune to it. No one should hurt a kid. No one had the RIGHT to hurt a kid.

 

In the cargo hold with their things, Snart is thinking though his options. Mopey Eyes makes his speech and Sara joins in and it's all so "touching," but they have a point.  
"For better or for worse," because how could his life get worse? He already has to fend off other people's oppressive Bonds on a daily basis. Why not have a little fun with the time line while he's at it?

 

They're all on the bridge now, camaraderie and sickeningly sweet desire to help. Stein turns everyone's attention to them.  
"I like to kill people."  
That's the spirit, Mick, keep your ideals violent and nothing will bother you.   
He's made up his mind, "We're in. For now."


	2. Pilot Part 2 (Ep 2)

The ship moved again, Mick was nauseous in the seat next to him.  
"What are you complaining about now?" He doesn't need the residual feeling of nausea creeping up on them on top of everything else.  
"I hate flying."  
'Oh, really? I couldn't tell.' Snart wants to roll his eyes, but instead he tries sending some 'feel good' vibes through their Bond. 

Rip wants to infiltrate a criminal's auction. Great, more Bonds to fill his senses and drown him. Why not? Carter takes a shot at him and Mick, but petty words like that stopped affecting Snart around the time he started to block out other people's Bonds.  
"I'm no one's lapdog, Bird Man."  
Not to mention Mick can stand up for himself.  
It's time to get the ball rolling. Get in, grab the psycho killer, get out, easy tag and grab that Snart has done on more than one occasion. Mr. Perfect projects confidence and he strides towards this 'clothing making machine' of Rip's. Apparently, he thinks he knows something about getting in elbow deep with a bunch of blood thirsty criminals.  
Snart makes sure to correct him.  
"I'm in charge in case any of you have forgotten."  
Poor Captain constipated, this really isn't going to be his day. Snart doesn't want the poor man to think he has any hope of controlling them now that he's revealed he's nothing more than a Broken-Bond swindler, "No, I remember, I just don't care."  
The Captain doesn't give up easily though and tries to reach them again, "...You're making a big mistake"  
"Already did that when we trusted you."  
Points to Raymond for the punch line. 

Of course they're checking IDs. What sane criminal would have a secret auction with weapons of mass destruction without checking to see if you were actually evil?  
"We got this, trust us."  
Mick's confidence makes snatching the badge that much easier and rewarding.  
"Excuse you." Snart's bare handed, but whoever he bumped in to won't be able to feel a thing through his layer of clothing.  
Snart holds the ID with just two fingers, but the oaf at the door snatches at it with an attitude and his thumb touches Snart's forefinger. It's barely a graze and nothing near an actual touch, but it's enough for his pesky Infinity Bond to connect with. If Snart wasn't careful. "I'm Arab, on my mother's side."  
The oaf doesn't believe him and Snart wonders if he should reach out with the Bond to help convince him when Stein marches up to them and starts spouting places and dates of terrorism. Since when did the professor know so much about terrorists & their actions?  
"Bottom line...You don't want to doubt me."  
And that's that. Nicely done Stein.  
Snart grabs back the ID and they go inside. Potential Bond gone from existence.  
Mick seems to be as impressed with the scientist as Snart is, "You're a special kind of crazy. I like it."  
But their fastly forming friendship will have to wait. They had a future murderer to find.  
As in all things in life, easier said than done.  
There are Bonds, Multi-Bonds and a few UnBonded. Snart's surprised the men around him weren't all Broken Bonds.  
"He's not here, boss." Mick tells him and he agrees, they should get out of there before anyone can notice they don't belong.  
"If I could have your attention." An UnBonded man is standing on the stage and suddenly Snart can feel an unwelcoming presence. Feels like Savage is here after all.  
"Thank you all for coming." The man continues and that's when Savage and his Shattered Bond take the stage. He's not buying, he's selling. The situation makes it impossible to nab him. What's worse, he appears to be able to notice the Birds and their Bond nearby. Figured a magic immortal killer would be able to sense them.

Savage pegs them and then some other guy in a grey suit starts trouble as well.  
"Is there some sort of problem here?" Savage walks up to them and he's so CLOSE. Snart can feel the energy from the man just from being at an arm's length.  
"Yeah, the master race here is starting to bug me."  
Mick's hot temper is going to get them all killed. Snart reaches out to him, using their proximity to send calming waves to the man. There's a slim chance they might get out of here without a fight.  
Then Stein opens his mouth with his science jargon and Snart hears the words "this era" and sees them register on Savage's face. So much for 'without a fight.'

Savage returns to the stage and puts a bounty on their heads right there and then. Snart sighs inwardly, why did every outing have to end in a brawl?  
"Can I burn some stuff now?" Mick leans in close and his voice is gravely and itching to cause a ruckus. The plan's long gone now, might as well make sure they get out of there alive.  
"I wish you would."  
The room erupts in gunfire, flames and ice, wings and fists. It's chaos and control at the same time and Snart puts his back to his partner as they take out their opponents.  
While they're fighting, Firestorm takes a little trip with the bomb and the ground shakes a little as it goes off. Snart waits for the feeling of their Multi-Bonds disappearing, but it doesn't. It's the opposite, in fact, their merged Bond surges with energy that can only mean they've absorbed the bomb. That would explain why they weren't dead.

Norway was saved for the day, but now Raymond's left a piece of himself behind and the bad guys are going to use it to hurry along the world's destruction. Oh, how the incompetent rise in the times of need.  
This whole 'mission' is going to be worse than a waste of time, it's going to be an end of their time as they know it. The Captain may have been right for the first time in this endeavor so far when he told them they shouldn't have gone...

But Stein knows how to get the piece back and save their present, not to mention their future and Kendra knows how to kill the psycho. So, there's that.  
They know where the dagger is too and who better to get it for them then Snart? He plucks the paper out of Rip's hand with ease, with absolutely no risk in touching the man and making that frustrated feeling any stronger through their seed-sized Bond.  
Snart still hasn't been able to shake it since the man abducted him. Probably has to do with the time travel or something.  
Mr. Sunshine want to go too and isn't that just perfect. A do-gooder wanting to come along with a pair of crooks to steal something. He tries to dismiss the request with facts like, "I've already got a partner."  
"Who I trust even less than you." Raymond counters and Snart doesn't really care about trust. Trust is for people who want to be double-crossed. But arguing isn't going to help and if he doesn't let the bright-eyed scientist go along, then the other man will find a way to mess up again.  
Time to rob a Russian.

Mick and Snart case the house. It's simple enough to tell where the security measures are. This will be easy. "Just stay close, I saw at least three armed guards on the perimeter." Well, felt their Bonds would be more accurate, but who needs to explore details?  
"Right, boss."  
Snart can't even enjoy the normality of pulling off a job because that idiot Palmer is going for the dummy box talking about his parents house and ignoring the obvious. If only the scientist could fit IN the box. It would be a two-for-one deal on dummies.  
The guards are there as Mick and Snart explain why the man's an idiot, then they turn and with practiced ease the guards are knocked out.

In the house there are displays begging for their contents to be taken.  
"Found it." Raymond is far too chipper for someone with a Broken-Bond. Snart always thought those who suffered from the separation would gain a sense of melancholy. Not a go-getter attitude and desire to be the happiest one in the room.  
Snart 'explains' how to get to things through a glass container in a way he knows even the dimwitted can understand.  
He breaks the case.  
Mick mimics the movement with three more breaks. It's music to Snart's ears.

Mick is enjoying the same normalcy that Snart is, he can feel it through their Bond, "You guys grab the goodies, I'll find the safe."  
Mr. Perfect is predictably surprised by his partner's statement.

"It's what we came here for."  
Confusion and concern are pouring out of Raymond. Snart will have to clear that up for him.  
"No, it's what you came here for." It's what they need for the mission, then the mission will be over and if this is the last time Snart is going to be able to get his hands on something of value, then he's going to do just that. He is, after all, a criminal.  
Ray grabs his arm and Snart's glad his jacket is there to keep that irritating Broken-Bond away from him. Still, the man's too close and has no right touching him.  
"Take your hand off me." Snart tries for a calm order.  
"I'm not going to let you jeopardize another mission."  
Though Raymond can't seem to get the hint that he's chartered into dangerous waters. Snart doesn't have it in him to be nice. This idiot's already risked their timeline once today. He's not going to mess up a simple heist.  
"I'm done asking politely." He punches him, Gloved hand connecting solidly with the other man's jaw. "This is my mission."  
Snart has a hard time handing over control. Especially when a whiny scientist wants to take over with his naïve thinking and moral standards.  
"And I'm gonna listen to a guy who spent half of his life in prison?"  
He didn't expect the punch back. The bare fist on his face caught him off guard and sent a jolt though his body as Raymond's Broken-Bond starts to connect to him. Snart hopes the pain in the blathering idiot's jaw will keep him from noticing.

Then a red light and buzzing fills the room right before the cage comes down and he wants to growl at the universe for trying to make his life miserable. Mick comes to check on them and Snart uses their Bond to help egg the man on to glare at Raymond. Not that his partner would need much prodding. It was Raymond's fault after all.  
"...We've got bigger problems." Snart tells Mick, removing his gloves because they'll get in his way when he finds the security panel. He starts to tell Mick the next steps to take, but his partner already knows and finishes his sentence for him.  
"This ain't over." Mick's anger to Raymond and protective spike to Snart is comforting in the midst of the deteriorating situation. Raymond's confused, and a touch worried, his expression is icing on the cake.  
After Mick's gone to reset the alarms and he's working on the panel (the buzzing is stopped now), Raymond is THERE, so close-too close and the Bond is trying to solidify between them. 

"It makes me a survivor and there's gonna come a day when you wish you were one too." Because that's what it takes to make it in this world. Where everyone could be your greatest ally or worst enemy in the blink of an eye.  
Snart throws his hands up. He can't get it to work. He must be losing his touch.  
"Here," Ray has his hand open. What can the man possibly know about alarms? The last one he 'knew' about was a dummy box, but Snart hands the tool over to him and their hands brush again. Raymond's complete obliviousness is, for once, a great asset to Snart. The man hasn't noticed his Infinity Bond in the slightest.  
Ray shows him his trick and Snart isn't one to hold back a compliment when it's due, "I take it back, Raymond, you're not completely useless after all."

The red light goes out with a loud noise and Savage has Mick. There's blood trickling down his partner's head and Snart glares at the man, allowing his hatred for the maniac and his concern for his partner flow into his Bond with Mick.  
"I'm grateful for another opportunity to kill you."  
Savage threatens his partner, the crew on the Waverider and the future with arrogance. Len clenches the gloves in his hand tightly as he holds onto the bars.  
The murdering psycho thinks immortality will save him from Snart's wrath.  
"I'm going to kill you anyway. That's a promise." If the man doesn't stay dead, it'll make it that much more alleviating to kill him again and again. How many times can the man die? Snart's willing to find out.

"What have I deserved to earn such enmity?" Savage foolishly asks, but he can't possibly know the Bond between him and his partner. (That being reason enough to kill the man.) The fact that the Waco will go on throughout time killing people just to serve his bloodthirsty needs is a mere bonus in comparison.  
Then Mick's on the ground hurt again, and it flows back to Snart making him angrier.  
He has to keep his cool, though. Has to keep the mask on so that the other two in the room can't feel the Infinite-Bond inside of him. It'll only makes things worse.  
"You won't be so happy when the rest of the team shows up and wipes that smug grin off your face."  
Oh, Raymond you silly, silly man. Can't the genius see that's exactly what their enemy wants to happen? For the rest of the crew to show up and so he can have a crack at the Bird Couple?  
"Please, contact your friends, I'm looking forward to seeing at least two of them."  
He's got it bad for bird girl. His Shattered-Bond has driven him to obsession and insanity and the whole immortality bit isn't helping with his psyche. It wasn't unheard of for a person with a Shattered-Bond to go crazy. In face, it was rarer to hear about people who hadn't lost their minds after suffering from such a loss.

Snart makes the call over the communicator, but Savage is radiating impatience as strongly as he is excitement. He's going to shoot Mick in the head if they don't DO something and soon.  
A blast of fire pushes the maniac away from his partner and Snart is actually glad for the presence of another set of Bonds in the room. Especially when that set of Bonds can melt their prison away to a metallic puddle on the floor. Though, afterwards, as Firestorm flies ahead of them, Snart could swear Stein's Bond had changed slightly. But that wouldn't make any sense...

Where there is one, there is more of their team and Snart puts his gloves back on. Savage probably has men nearby as well and it's easier to handle his gun with gloved fingers. He hands the procured dagger to Carter, "Go get him."  
The Bond couple take on Savage while Snart and his new crew fight the henchmen in the backyard. It's like extreme sports with the unfriendly away team, but with weapons and illegal moves.  
As the fighting continues, Snart can sense a change in Bonds. Someone is now Broken-Bonded and a sinking feeling in his gut tells him it's one of the birds. Savage's Shattered-Bond surges with energy in a similar way Firestorm's had, cementing Snart's suspicions. The only question is, was it Carter or Kendra? 

Raymond blasts Savage through the glass and Kendra is saved from the maniac's finishing blow. But Snart doesn't want to retreat like their Captain is ordering.  
"Come on we can still kill him."  
"Kendra is the only one who can."  
Figures, of course there can be only one way to stop an immortal. It would be too easy if any person could stab the guy and end the misery of the future. So they run away, leaving Carter behind.

In the ship, heartbroken sobs of "I didn't get to tell him" echo throughout the ship.

Stein's Bond is back to normal. From what Snart overhears, his little trip to talk to himself caused a bit of a problem but Rip sorted it out. The Captain did have his uses.

Their failed attempts at making a difference and their loss of a crew member has Snart feeling defeated. The different Bonds around him are in varying states of depression as well. But the Captain isn't through with them yet.  
"Now it's up to you."  
"To do what Rip? Last I checked" his voice caught a little but he pushed through it, "every time we tried to do anything it all goes to crap." Was it his plan to have them bumbling through time making a bigger mess of things? It wasn't a very good plan.  
Rip still thinks there's hope for them and hope for this mission. He wants them to stay, wants them to finish what they've started and pull through victorious.  
Snart just wants Savage to pay for what he's done.  
"We didn't know Carter from Adam, but if you're going to take out one of my crew, you're going to pay the price." Savage hurt Mick. Savage threatens his future. Savage is a literal threat to all time. The man's going down.  
"For Carter."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the first chapter, then re-watched the episode and adjusted it.  
> When I wrote the second, and wrote with notes (an episode guide-line). I'm not sure if they read the same or if this is any good.  
> 


	3. "Blood Ties" (Ep 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I tried to slow down with this one... There are SO. MANY. FEELINGS!  
> Another Chapter, another episode, another style of writing. This time I watched the episode, then re-watched it and wrote this chapter.

/*"Along with the ability to Bond with any person, the Infinite-Bond is rumored to posess extreme sensitivity to surrounding Bonds and the Bond-Mate's emotions."*/

"...And by the way, Captain, you are urgently needed in the MedBay."  
Gideon's voice broke Snart out of his thoughts. Kendra wasn't doing too well. Snart didn't need the blaring alarm and flashing lights to know that, thank you very much.  
Stein and the Captain ran off first, alarm and concern radiating from them, Raymond followed right after. Snart could feel the Birdie's Broken-Bond fighting to stay alive.

"Pieces of the dagger have apparently broken off and are, as we speak, en route to her heart," the Captain sighs slightly, his hands rubbing together to keep his mind off the situation. He's worried about his precious mission. If the Bird Girl dies, then he has no hope in killing Savage.  
Snart isn't too keen on that happening either. He owes that monster a few damaging blows.  
Jax wants to go to the future to save her and the Captain explains why that won't work. Snart adds in his own knowledge.  
"Kendra wouldn't survive the time jump anyway," Snart is inwardly pleased with Rip's surprised glare and impressed feeling. Snart shrugs, "I pay attention."  
Mick sums it up rather nicely for the group, pacing the room with his agitation flowing over to Snart. Rip wants them all to believe this mission is still doable, wants then to power through this next step, telling them how 'simple' it will be.  
"Simple don't mean easy, Captain," Snart points out, he hopes the man who is trying to lead them knows at least that much.  
"Oh, I never said it was."  
Good, at least he wasn't blind to reality. Maybe there was hope for him as a leader after all. Maybe, but Snart doubted it.  
Rip pours out exhaustion and some hidden feelings he doesn't want to feel.  
"I've seen darker days."  
That intrigues Snart. What has their dear Captain seen in his life? Or, in the Time Lines he's crossed? Could the optimistic man be hiding something darker in that Broken-Bond of his?  
Rip continues on with another encouraging speech and Snart ignores him until he mentions something called a "Jump Ship." Now, THAT could most definitely be of use to the criminal.  
The Captain tells Jax to look into it and Snart lowers his head to hide his smile. The kid was young and would be easy to manipulate. The bumbling Captain's already got him out of his comfort zone looking into the damaged machine. Time to start his own mission.  
Mick's agitation grows. His partner needs to get off this ship and soon. Good thing Snart already had a plan.  
Rip makes a parting shot at Mick and Snart's slightly impressed at the man's gusto and willingness to poke a bear he should be more weary of. His partner wasn't a man to be trifled with.  
"Thick...Does that mean stupid?"  
The genuine confusing makes him want to smile, but he manages to keep it at bay. Oh, Mick, what quiet little world you must live in. Snart asks his partner a random question and the man is instantly distracted.

 

"...I'm going with you to that bank."  
Rip is drenched in guilt and leaning towards suicidal and Sara's determined not to let their foolhardy leader get himself killed.  
Didn't they know there were two men capable of taking on something as simple as a bank on this ship?  
"Somebody say bank?"  
Rip is dismissive, then Mick points out one of their abilities and Snart enjoys watching the Captain drop his head in aggravation. He and his partner double time their leader with ease and they close in on him.  
Rip tells them he doesn't want anything stolen and Snart's glad the man is as stubborn as always. He had bigger fish to fry than a bank heist.  
"Listen, Englishman, I'm getting bored being stuck on this tin can."  
His partner's agitation has reached near critical levels. They really needed to get out and do something before he sets something he shouldn't on fire.  
"And when I get bored I make bad decisions."  
Case and point, time for Snart to step in.  
"Now, now, now," Snart puts himself between the two men, he thinks about actually pushing them away, but his hands are exposed and he will NOT allow the Captain's seed Bond that won't go away any furtilizer. So he changes his mind, mid-movement and goes for the prize hidden on Rip's person, "We're all on the same side here."  
"My hot-headed friend and I just want to be helpful," Snart lowers his voice, all resigned innocence, "That's all."  
"Duly noted."  
Rip doesn't like Mick. If his face didn't make it so obvious, his emotions surely did. That's fine by Snart. He doesn't care if they don't all hold hand and sing songs together.  
That's not what they're there for.  
"You should've let me punch him."  
The feeling is clearly mutual. Time to distract Mick's anger with Snart's plan.  
"Yeah, then we wouldn't have gotten this." Snart shows him the little black piece that will give them access to the Jump Ship. Mick is more confused now than angry.  
Time to go get their guns and talk to Jax.

"Ah! Nice ride!"  
Mick's already excited. That's good.  
Jax is excited as well, telling them a little about what he's learned working on the ship.  
"Did you read the part about how to fly this thing?" Snart smiles. He sits close to the kid so he can project as much friendliness as he can. Mick is crowding in on the kid's other side, trying to show as little of his menacing air as possible.  
"Maybe...Why?"  
Jax isn't stupid, he knows there's something off about Mick's all too eager smile. Bright kid, but all kids were gullible when it came to fast cars. Or, in this case, fast ships.  
"We're going to take a little sojourn to Central City. There's a priceless jewel that needs to be freed from captivity." There's no point in lying to the kid. If they tried to trick him there was a possibility that he'd fly off without them or try to stop them.  
He wouldn't do that if he already knew what they were up to.  
"You want me to help you steal something."  
Jax acts like he wants to do the right thing, but Snart can feel the excitement buzzing from him. He wants to help them steal something.  
"Nah, man, I'll pass."  
Well, if at first you don't convince, push harder.  
"Not exactly asking, Jax." And he's not. There are three possible ways to get the kid to do what he wants and Snart really hope the kid goes for door number one or two.  
"Wow..."  
The kid blathers on about things that would affect other people, but that's other people and Snart doesn't really care about them right now.  
"...and all you can think about is stealing some diamond?"  
"It's an emerald," Snart doesn't want the kid to be mistaken on what their prize is. Details were important.  
"Is there anything you think about other than yourself?"  
"Yes," Lisa, this stupid Infinite-Bond that wants to be everyone's best friend, and, "Money."  
"Nah, I'm not helping you guys steal anything."  
The kid's on his feet. The threatening tactic isn't going to work with him after all. Not only is Jax smart, he's got moxie too. Must come with the superhero outfit.  
"If you want to shoot me, then shoot me."  
Snart may have thought too soon about the smart part. Mick's standing now, charging his gun. Snart can't have his partner kill the kid. He still needs him to fly the ship.  
Time for option two.  
Mick's disappointed that he can't shoot Jax, but not surprised.  
"Look, you don't actually have to help us steal anything. We just have to get to Central City. We'll be there and back before anyone knows we're even gone." Snart can see that gleam in the kid's eyes still. He struggling with his want to do the 'right thing' and the desire to do the 'wrong thing.'  
Jax tries to dissuade them with the whole 'I couldn't help you if I wanted to' speech, but Snart beats him to the end of it, producing the access key that will allow them to use the ship.  
"Can't tell me you don't want to see what this baby can do?" Come on, kid, you know you want to. The lure of being the bad guy was capable of tempting even the most 'noble' of people.  
Jax smiles ever so slightly, excitement bubbling up inside him, and Snart smiles back.  
Gotcha.

The museum's security is laughable. Mick keeps an eye out, even though Snart can feel the guard's Bonds moving on the other side of the building. The light above the emerald is like a beacon to Snart's victory.

"That's what I call a clean heist."  
Mick is satisfied with a job well done. The feeling should keep him relatively happy for the next few days. Even after Snart lets him in on the second part of his scheme.  
"And thanks for not setting the museum on fire, partner," It was a near thing, but their Bond saved them the trouble of explaining the disastrous change to the Time Line, "And you, thanks for being our getaway driver."  
The kid could run with the Rogues if he wanted. There was talent hidden under his boyish charm. He just needed to lose his jumpiness.  
This amount of good will was an odd feeling for Snart.  
"Speaking of," Jax is eager to leave, "Let's get back to the ship."  
Not so fast, kid. There was one more thing left to do. "Oh, one more stop."  
Jax's worried expression was expected. As well as Mick's curiosity.  
He rattles of his home address, turning his eyes to his partner because he knows the man will recognize it.  
"It's where he grew up."  
Mick really is smarter than people give him credit for. In the time it took Snart to recite his address, his partner has figured out the second half of their venture.  
He doesn't need the Jax to know though. He tries to stop his partner from filling the kid in, but Mick is angry and he keeps talking.  
"You're father was a thief too?"  
Jax is surprised at that? Didn't everyone assume criminals came from bad parents?  
"And unfortunately, not a very good one." Which is why Snart had to do the stealing. He had to try to fix his past. Make it a little more bearable.  
"Didn't Rip say something about not messing with the Time Line?"  
Not a very good point to make. Snart doesn't care what the Captain has to say about altering time when that was the epitome of their mission. Rip WANTED then to change it to save the future. So why not change a little bit of his past as well?  
"You could accidentally blink yourself out of existence..."  
How sweet, the kid was worried for him. He doesn't understand though. He could never understand. This had to be done. He didn't care if it removed him from the Time Line. It was a risk worth taking.  
"Yeah, well, history screwed with me first."  
He'll Bond with the kid to convince him if he needs to. Thankfully, he doesn't need to. Jax's shoulders slump in resignation and puts the address into the computer.  
Like he thought before, smart kid.

 

His front door is an easy pick. Snart makes sure to lock it once he's inside. No need for Mick or Jax to come running in after him.  
He walks passed the remains of the card game, flashes of memories flying by as he continues to move. The bottles in the kitchen draw his hand, but he pulls back. His dad won't be using them as a weapon yet. They'll be removed long before the elder Snart is released.  
He continues to walk, his eyes catching something familiar on the table in the other room. It's his little brown bear. A present from his mother when he was born.  
"I came down for a glass of water."  
Snart curses himself inwardly for being so foolish. He was so wrapped up in the past that he hadn't noticed the present. Well, sort of the present. Time travel could really mess up your head if you thought about it too much.  
His younger, self is nervously holding the glass to his chest. He's too young to know about the infinity symbols on the backs of his hands yet. Younger him was still enjoying the short time of innocence he had.  
"I'm Leo."  
A name Snart would learn to hate and never use again.  
"Are you friends with my Daddy?"  
'Daddy' such a simple word connected with complex feelings and darker memories.  
"Kind of." He tells his younger self, because it's true no matter how much Snart wished it wasn't.  
"I think my Daddy's sleeping."  
Snart wonders if he'll remember meeting someone in his house later. He wonders if he'll remember the forced smile he's giving to his younger self as he goes to one knee to be more at eye level.  
He really hopes so, because he's about to give himself some very sound advice.  
"Can I tell you something, Leo?" And Snart's eyes are watering without his permission. He needs this to work out, but if it doesn't... Snart was always a man with a plan B. "It's important."  
His younger self nods, curiosity winning out over the fear of meeting a stranger in his house. Snart doesn't remember being so brave at that age.  
"Don't ever let anyone hurt you." His voice is annoyingly weak. "Ever," He adds in a whisper.  
"Not here," Snart points to his head, adding a visual to his words so they're easier to remember. "And especially," he moves his hand to his younger self's heart, "Not here."  
Because even if he manages to change the Time Line, which he should but this mission of Rip's has taught him nothing goes the way it should, that pesky Infinity-Bond might still tear him apart if he's not careful.  
Connections were easy to form and hard to get over.  
"No matter what, you always have to look out for yourself. Okay?" He hopes he will at least remember the words. "You understand?"  
"I think so."  
A gun clicks behind Snart's head and he's disappointed in himself for the second time that day. His past really messed him up. He knows it's his father before the man even threatens him.  
"You get away from my boy."  
'My boy' yeah right. More like your punching bag. Snart refused to let his mind go down that dark path right now. He needs to stop his father from killing his present self in front of his past self.  
"Why don't you go on up to bed?" He keeps his voice in a low whisper. The last thing he needed was for his mother to come down the stairs next. "Go on."  
Younger him nods slightly and does as he asks. Such a trusting and foolish kid.  
The second he's at the stairs, Snart turns an icy glare to his father and rises to his feet.  
Time to change the past.

"Talk fast or you take a bullet."  
His father is pointing the dining room lamp at him like it's a B-rated Hollywood cop movie. He might actually be dumb enough to fire the weapon at him.  
But Snart isn't scared of him. Hasn't been since he escaped from his clutches as a teenager and only briefly right before he killed him in that vault.  
"What are you doing in my home?"  
"A favor." This isn't a home, but Snart has to push down his emotions if he's going to get through this conversation without killing the man in front of him, "For you."  
He reaches into his pocket and his father warns him but he merely pulls out the large gem to show it to his astonished parent.  
"How did you-"  
"Two days from now, you try to steal this and you get arrested," Snart doesn't let him finish, there's no need, "And you spend five years in Iron Heights."  
"What are you talking about?"  
His father raises the gun up again, his finger around the trigger, he's just as bad at feigning ignorance as he was at stealing.  
"Cut the crap. We both know if I go down to the basement right now I'll find floor plans for the Central City Museum." The guns lowers and Snart pushes on, "Let's just say I saved you the trouble....and from being arrested."  
He smacks the precious jewel onto the newspaper cluttered counter. It's really a shame, the thing was a nice piece.  
"How do you know all this?"  
Snart hadn't decided whether or not to threaten his father. He doubted Rip would make it easy for him to follow through with it, but the urge to try outweighed the practicality and he threatened the man anyway.  
"I know who you are. I know the man you become." If anyone could even call that monster a man. "It's all I can do to keep from ending you right here, right now, but if I do, that means my sister is never born." He points a finger right in his father's face. "So you get a pass."  
Anger boils in his veins like lava, but it doesn't effect his even tone. He's had years of fighting emotions. Controlling himself.  
He glares one last time into the confused face of his father, then strides out of the house.  
"Your sister?" reaches his ears as he goes through the door.  
Yes, you idiotic man who can't do anything right and is more than willing to throw everything away. Lisa has saved your life. The girl who you'll beat within an inch of her life when she doesn't listen to you the first time. The kind and gentle girl turned nasty and mean before age six. The first person Snart could open up to about his Infinite-Bond and who openly accepts him without question.  
The only person in the world who understood him.

"Looks like you didn't write yourself out of the Time Line."  
Mick says as a greeting, but Snart is anxious to get out of there. He still wants to go back inside and kill the man standing in the kitchen.  
"But?"  
Jax is looking at him, trying to figure him out. Poor kid, he never will, but Snart can at least answer him.  
"I don't know. I just thought maybe things would feel differently." He has a sinking suspicion that it didn't work. His mind always went to negativity first, he was rarely optimistic.  
"The Englishman said it took time for time to change."  
Maybe it did work if Mick, his hot-headed partner, was making sense.  
"What are you trying to change?"  
The kid is too curious for his own good. He should be careful what he asks for.  
"My dad was never father of the year, but at least he never raised a hand to any of us..." He let the kid figure the rest out for himself.  
Which he did: "Until he went to prison. Which, now he won't."  
"Let's get out of here." He doesn't want the kid's optimism to affect him. There was still no change to how he felt or his memories from childhood.

 

Stein's voice comes through over the speakers. Jax is instantly remorseful for leaving the man in the dark about their actions, but Snart can tell this doesn't have to do with their jaunt in the Jump Ship.  
There's something tugging at the back of his mind. He at first thought it was the affects of the Time Line changing, but he realizes it's that feeling he got whenever Rip got himself in trouble.  
He really was such an incompetent Captain.  
"...Rip and Sara are in danger." The scientist finishes, proving what Snart already assumed. Jax starts making the adjustments and he decides to assure the older man.  
"We're on our way, professor."

The ship lands louder than Snart would have liked. There's no way Savage and his goons didn't hear them or see the flashing lights. Snart knows the maniac is in there, his Shattered-Bond radiating his ego even through the thick walls.  
Rip is suddenly smug and Sara is more at ease.  
They yank the door open and enter into the crowded room.  
"Let's get this party started!"  
"Here's our invitation." Snart immediately shoots the first man who approaches.  
This will be a great stress reliever. Even Jax is joining in on the henchmen beatings, even though he can't become Firestorm. Brave kid. He has to make sure to keep an eye out for him.  
"You came."  
Rip sounds far too surprised. Didn't he forget the man was the only way to navigate the WaveRider?  
"We're a team!" Jax shouts at him, "Next time, remember that."  
Right. They were a 'team' too. Still too early for Snart to think like that, but the kid was certainly growing on him.  
"Enough!"  
Savage fires some sort of blue ray at them and Snart throws himself to the ground. He turns his head and is relieved to see Mick and Jax had ducked out of harm's way as well.  
"Get Carter's body out of here."  
Rip orders Mick and Jax. Snart's stomach churns at the idea. He fires his own blue weapon at Savage. He can't kill him, but he can freeze him and shatter his remains.  
Too bad the maniac manages to hide behind the alter.  
Sara takes down five goons effortlessly. Mick and Jax are carrying away Carter's body when Savage shouts and hits his weapon on the ground, sending out a pulse of some kind and knocking them all off their feet. Snart recovers quickly.  
"Go! I'll deal with Savage."  
"Good luck with that." As much as Snart wants to have a shot at the psycho, he really needs to keep an eye out for his partner and the kid.

When they get back to the ship, Kendra's Broken-Bond is much stronger. Less dying than it was when they last landed.

Snart still can't shake the LACK of change to his feelings. He asks Gideon for his new Time Line, but it hasn't changed at all. That doesn't make any sense. He stole the emerald. How could his father have messed up when he did all the work?  
He asks the AI again and she assures him of the validity, though with a slight twist.  
Lewis Snart was stupid through and through.  
"...Despite your intervention, your future remains unchanged."  
Thank you, Gideon, for that horrendously monotone delivery of bad news.  
He closes his eyes. Jax's Milti-Bond is close by and he can't risk looking weak in front of the kid.  
"Hey, you tried to save him...That's gotta count for something."  
Jax is worried about him again. He appreciates the lack of pity. He doesn't need pity.  
He needs a drink.  
"Turns out it doesn't." He pulls back to sarcasm to dissuade the depression.  
Sara enters and tells them it's time to say goodbye. Snart doesn't want to go and do anything right now, but even he thinks Carter deserves a proper send off.

Jax moves in front of him, arm extended and mouth pinched as if he has to say something. Snart crosses his arms and waits.  
"My dad died in battle when I was real young." The kid tells him, still radiating worry but with a touch of sadness. "I know it's not the same, but I can understand the need of wanting a proper father figure in your life."  
Snart stiffens. The kid really knew how to hit one home. Maybe he could turn him into a Rogue after all.  
"You two coming, or what?" Sara pops her head back through the doorway, anger and impatience flowing over to them easily.  
Snart nods to Jax and follows after the blonde, the kid at his heels.

Mick is a little twitchy at his side, turning from side to side before moving his hands because he doesn't know what to do with them. Snart doesn't have the emmotional strength to calm him through their Bond. His partner will just have to suffer like everyone else.  
Rip makes another one of his 'winning' speeches, throws in a small compliment to the team as well. It doesn't change the collective grief from the group.  
"...One person acting alone can't save the world."  
And apparently can't change it either. If Snart couldn't affect his own Time Line what hope did these 'Legends' have at changing the future?

When Mick walks away hurriedly, Snart follows after in his own slow pace. 

 

Back at the ship, Rip makes it obvious that he knows about Snart and Mick's little trip to the Museum.  
"You want me to say I'm sorry?" Snart challenges, because it will never happen.  
"Sorry." Mick surprises a few of them before finishing with, "I don't do sorrys."  
"Which is 'fine' Mr. Rory."  
Rip's face twitches with irritation. The Captain really didn't like his partner. Snart idly wonders why, though his mind is still too bogged down with too many feelings to give it a good thought.  
"Because you are owed the apology."  
Oh, no. What is Rip up to now. He confesses another secret, big surprise there, and then tries to raise their spirits. Kendra puts a little damper on that when she reminds them of the loss of Carter.  
Rip powers through that with a bow of his head, needing his crew to understand they must be "...committed to working in concert."  
Sart decides to help the poor Captain out.  
"You don't ditch us. We won't ditch you. Deal?"  
Rip squints more than he winks, but there's an understanding there and it will have to do.  
"Sir, I've completed my review of the Time Line..."  
Snart strides around the back of the chairs so he can sit in the one next to Jax.  
The kid really impressed him today. For the first time in a long time, he wonders if it wouldn't be so bad to add another Bond to his Infinite one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Update*: Thank You very much "Katyakora" and "Mallory"! I will venture to do the entire first season! =}
> 
> Okay, I think I lost my Mojo. This show is too good to be tainted with my bad writing. I might come back and torture it some more, but I know I shouldn't.  
> Thanks for reading anyway and all the Kudos from the previous chapters.


	4. "White Knights" (Ep 4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode FOUR!  
> One of my favorites, so let's hope I don't bungle it...
> 
> Note: There's a Translation for the Top /*"Quote"*/ at the bottom of the Chapter.
> 
> *UPDATE!: There is an AU for this Chapter. It's in the "Series" section.*

/*"Ova ze yearz of my resarch, I heve discavared a minute diference in ze Bondz az ve know zem. Especially in ze rare Multi-Bondz. I find zer iz a vey to be Bonded vitout an ectual physical reaction. Bonds ken be completely platonic. For egzample, ze sree musketeers ver a vell known group of Multi-Bondz who nevar, if you vill excuze my term, 'knocked bootz' togezar. Zey each had zere own lovaz and von muskateer vaz a vell known ladies man..."*/

Snart hates Raymond Palmer.  
He hates his doe-eyed look. Hates his unending sunny disposition. Hates the connection that thrums between them whenever he walks too close.  
So he's made it his own private mission to snark at the man as often as he can.

They time jump again.  
"That wasn't so bad was it?"  
"Walk in the park... Where are we now?" Snart doesn't really listen or care about the answer, because Mick is so nauseous next to him that it's bleeding over to him and he has to breath through it or risk losing his breakfast.  
Stein's not too happy about where they are, though. He's worried, wiping at his brow because he thinks they'll end up part of the Cold War.  
Knowing Rip, they probably will be.  
By the time Gideon pulls up the telecom, the nausea's gone. Snart looks at the heavily redacted files. They won't do.  
"Wow, that's totally useless."  
Mick knows it too. They'll have to steal the originals if there's going to be any hope for this mission. Which is exactly what Rip says. Good.  
Their Captain brings everyone's attention to the front facing window and Raymond's hesitant to point out the obvious. Rip tries to put everyone at ease by saying the ship is cloaked. It's almost as obvious as what Raymond was going to say, because if they weren't there would be more alarm coming from the calm city below.  
"You want us to break into the Pentagon. Sounds awesome."  
That's the spirit, Mick. After all, there's no choice, so why hesitate or complain?  
"It sounds crazy."  
What an uptight killjoy. Why were so many members of this crew against theft? Even for a 'good' cause?  
"What's the plan?"  
Aha! Good ole assassin. Sara's the most interesting member on board this heap.  
Not counting Snart himself, of course.

The Waverider is going to supply them with their credentials, of course. Hopefully the futuristic machine will be as accurate as the forgers back home.  
"Ooo! And don't forget our G-Man disguises. I always wanted to be a spy."  
Rip turns a withering look to the scientist. Their Captain looked how Snart feels. It's nice to know he wasn't the only one who couldn't tolerate the man's enthusiasm.

 

The credentials work perfectly. Snart has to hide his glee when Raymond's heart sinks as he's handed a dirty mop and told to get to work on the floors.  
When Rip had laid out the plan for the team, the scientist had tried to convince them of a better 'cooler' plan. Something about shrinking down and taking the thing, but no one listened to Raymond and Rip even had to snap at him a little to get him to stop.  
That made Snart's day.  
"Now, the file we're after is kept in a secure records room. In order to gain access, we're going to need to ah-" Rip hesitates for a second and Snart wants to roll his eyes, "'borrow' a magnetic key card."  
Really, they were there to steal top secret government files from a 'secure' government facility. What was the big deal about a tiny key card?  
"Because this is so much easier than just shrinking down and stealing it."  
Raymond whines again and it's beyond getting on Snart's nerves. Mr. Perfect is just angry to have to do manual labor. Probably thinks tinkering on his toy suit is considered 'hard work' or something.  
Snart looks over his shoulder and sees his target. Time to put the whiner in his place.  
"Let me show you how it's done." He been working on the same spot for the greatest amount of slippage. He drops his mop so he can use his hands. "Old school."  
The woman slips, gasping, but don't worry darling Snart's got you. Gloves would be too inconspicuous, so he's got to deal with her UnBonded Bond carefully.  
"You okay ma'am?" There's an arm at her back, which is fine, but the one he needs to hold her hand has them Bonding already. The adrenaline from doing something so familiar was making it hard to hold it back, but then again, allowing it a little will distract her.  
"I wasn't watching where I was going."  
She's looking at him, eyes wide from the slip. She's a little bit embarrassed and, oh-she likes him. Snart slides her back up in a sort of dance move, swiping her badge and wallet on the way.  
"Thank you."  
She's still holding his hand. There's a connection now and Snart hopes her job is a big enough deal to her that she'll go.  
"Just doing my job." Snart lowers his hand and the woman releases, straightening her hat as she continues her hurried strides to wherever she needs to go.  
Snart pulls up the card to show it to Raymond.  
"Tsa nifty little trick."  
The scientist is impressed and perhaps jealous. It was ridiculous for such a small feat. The man clearly doesn't know a thing about lifting.  
Snart shows him the wallet too.  
"Really? We're trying to save the world and you're lifting wallets?"  
Raymond's baffled and a touch angry now. Better.  
"It's called multi-tasking." Snart reads the name on the driver's license: "Heidi Ford." It was nice to meet you Heidi. Hopefully the Bond will fade before you meet who you're really supposed to. Snart's going to be gone within the hour.  
Sara and Kendra turn the corner, passing Heidi on their way toward them. Snart picks his mop back up and puts his arm across his body so that Sara can take it without notice. The assassin's so much better at this than the others. 

As soon as the ladies are gone, Snart and Raymond finish 'cleaning' and make their way out of the building. It's up to the rest of the team to finish.  
Snart can feel Mick's bubbling excitement as they leave. Brute strength over brains always made the man feel liberated.

Something happens on the kid's end of the job and now there's an alarm going off.  
"We have a slight problem."  
Sara's surprised and worried about something. They can't risk going back, but he knows the assassin can take care of herself. Besides, she's got Birdie with her.

"Where is that smoke coming from?"  
Snart smiles, which makes Raymond look at him funny. He ignores the scientist. This job is going downhill fast. 

"You've got the file, what does Kendra think she's doing?"  
What indeed. There's an old anger pouring out of her Broken-Bond as she tears into the military personnel. Snart's definitely not going back now, and he's glad Raymond doesn't make the attempt either.

"Abort! I repeat, Abort! Get back to the ship right now!"  
Chalk one up for another failure from Team Legends. That's what happens when you throw a bunch of amateurs together and hope for the best, Rip.

 

Rip is glaring at the team like a haggard father who's just walked into a house party. It's almost amusing to watch him stew there, leaning against the table computer.  
Snart keeps his distance from the group. There's going to be a fight, it's tingling in the air already, and he doesn't want to be anywhere near them when they explode.  
Raymond, being Raymond, tries to put a positive spin on their fiasco, but it doesn't ease their Captain's ire.  
"What are you talking about? It was awesome!"  
And Mick, being Mick, was just happy he got to beat someone in arm wrestling and shoot his gun. His partner really was so easy to please.  
No one else is happy.  
Stein scolds the kid, but the kid bites back. Then it seems like Sara's going to put a stop to it, but no, she just wants everyone to hear her make a stab at Kendra.  
"Enough! There is plenty of blame to go around."  
Yeah, right, Snart did his part perfectly. Even Raymond managed to not ruin everything. The real problems had started with the accidental explosion and fell from there. Just bad planning and poor execution.  
But it doesn't matter because the AI just wipes it all away and the government wouldn't want the public to know about winged women or flaming men.  
That would just be plain weird.

Savage has gone Red. Time to head to Russia.

Snart is roaming the halls, focusing on squashing the Bond with Heidi, when he feels the Waverider slow down. Raymond comes running out of his room and follows him to the main deck.  
"Run out of gas or something?" Snart asks, feeling the fear from Jax and confidence from Rip. The Captain has another hair-brained plan going on.  
"Chronos is still in pursuit. Weapon's system tracking."  
Gideon answers all questions Snart would have asked. Boba Fett didn't know when to quit.  
Raymond stares out the front window in awe and says something annoying.  
"Are you quoting 'Top Gun'?" Snart calls him out on it.  
"Maybe."  
The scientist is embarrassed but his amazement doesn't lessen. It was worth a try.  
"I've got heat seeking missiles. Closing at a distance of less than a mile."  
Snart forgets about the scientist in favor of adding his own concerns to Jax's growing fear. Both of which skyrocket when Rip tells the AI to, "Cut the engines."  
"Woah, wait, don't we need those to land?"  
They're going to die. They're incompetent Captain is going to blow them to smithereens!  
But Rip is still pouring out confidence and it's not like Gideon will listen to him, so Snart will have to wait this out.  
"I said cut them, Gideon!"  
Maybe the Artificial INTELIGENCE knows better than you, 'Captain'? But, no, the AI cuts the engines and Snart finds himself just as surprisingly happy as Jax when the missiles target something else: Chronos.

Even though the Captain got the missiles, and their enemy, off their back, the ship is now plummeting to the earth. Snart doesn't need Rip's suggestion to get into the nearest seat.  
"It's going to be a bit of a bumpy landing."  
Which will be much tougher for the rest of their team, not that the Captain would have the foresight to think of them.  
The chest part of Snart's seat doesn't go all the way down. Even their seats feel the need to fail.  
"When I said 'bumpy,' I meant 'prepare for crash landing.'"  
Great. Snart braces himself in the chair.  
For once, Rip's right. They crash, jarring themselves forward as the ship shakes wildly. Snart hopes Mick got a hold of something.

"Good news, Captain," Gideon pipes into the room happily, "Despite our rough landing, the ship is still fully operational."  
"Welcome to the USSR, gentlemen."  
Rip's trying to look cool in front of them, which is a vain thing to do considering the man almost killed them all. Twice.  
Snart leans forward. His head had bashed against the chair during the landing and it spins as Stein enters to state his complaints.  
Rip cares less than Snart does about what the professor has to say.  
Then the Captain is on his feet, interest burning at what Stein has brought into the room, "Did you get anything on Savage from the Pentagon file?"  
Apparently, their target is involved with an "Operation Svarog."  
Though, Mr. Perfect is more interested in "Valentina Vostok." The man's practically drooling over her resume and she's probably strikingly beautiful too.  
"I say we put two in the back of her head and call it a day." Its the simple, easy solution. No way for this motley crew to mess it up either.  
Raymond's shock isn't surprising. He tries to plead her case. The man was too old to have such an innocent look on the world.  
"She's working for Savage, that's all we need to know." No one can work for a monster without knowing it. Snart has first-hand experience. He worked with his father.  
"Just let me approach her as a scientist..."  
Ha! Raymond was a lot of things, annoying being the top most thing, but subtle was not one of them. Plus, he stuck out like a sore thumb.  
"It's 1986, you're American, and you don't speak Russian. She'll have you pegged as a spy in a second." Then you'll be killed and we'll be down another crew member.  
"Perhaps I can help with that."  
Rip interrupts them to offer some future tech: "Ingestible Translators."  
It's a handy little thing, Snart admits, but unfortunately, Raymond is far too pleased with the fact that he's an instant linguist and their Captain is clearly going with his plan.  
"Now you're annoying in multiple languages." Snart did promise himself to snark at the man as often as he could.  
Raymond gets to try being a spy again while Snart plays babysitter. How lovely.  
This play better be interesting, since he'll have to watch it if they're going to succeed.

Jax stays in the room with him as Gideon displays the play on the table computer.  
"Le Roi Candaule" is interesting enough. He and the kid enjoy making fun of the outfits as the dancers glide across the stage.

 

At the theatre, Snart takes the perfect position near the door, watching Vostok as she moves away from the crowd to light a cigarette. She's UnBonded, he notes with a smile.  
"I've got eyes on Vostok. She's headed straight for ya, Lover Boy."  
The woman is more beautiful than her picture, and Snart's smile widens. Mr. Perfect is out of his league with this one.  
Rip makes some useless comment over the comms in order to feel like he's in control.  
Raymond introduces himself, all charm and manners as he tries to offer her his lighter. Vostok blows out both flames, the one in Raymond's hand and the one in his heart, "I'm not interested to talking to student."  
The scientist doesn't back down and tries again, adding an offer for dinner to the mix.  
It has the opposite effect. Vostok is annoyed instead of charmed or remotely interested. With a roll of her eyes, she turns and walks away.  
"That was cold, even by a Russian's standards." Snart can't help but smile. The woman had taste. Snart can appreciate that. 

They mill around with the group for a second while the scientist tries to gather his confidence back. It's a sad thing to watch, so Snart goes back to his post.

Having pulled himself together, Raymond goes back in for round 2.  
"You struck out, Raymond. Maybe I should take a crack at her." Snart might hate the guy, but he figured he could at least offer to save the man whatever dignity he had left.  
"I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot." Raymond smiles. That's not going to work. Vostok is still annoyed. "I don't want to bother you."  
She laughs a little, "Too late."  
Raymond pushes on, "But as an investor, I'm in a position to fund your research. That is why I wanted us to meet."  
Bad play. A stranger walks up to you, all smiles and charm, then offers you money? Yeah, like that doesn't sound like a trap.  
"Easy, Raymond, you're gonna spook her." Snart tries to warn the scientist.  
"I think it's important to know who's funding your research. Don't you think?"  
That has Vostok worried. She knows Raymond's trying to play her. This isn't going to work. Raymond puts the final nail in his own coffin when he mentions "Project Svarog." Vostok's head turns sharply to Raymond, alarm all over her expression and coming from her Bond.  
Even Raymond notices he's said the wrong thing. That's a plus. Maybe the scientist will learn something from this.  
With a sigh, Snart pushes himself off the wall. It's up to him to save the night.  
"Sorry, is this man bothering you?" Snart guides Vostok away from the disappointed scientist. She's relieved at his intervention.  
"Don't trouble yourself. I'm not a damsel in distress."  
Relieved but wary of another pass from another stranger. Snart makes sure she doesn't group him in with the mopey-eyed rookie.  
"Good, cause I'm not a white knight." He smiles at her, but there's a flashing light in there eyes and a quiet sounding bell. Time for the ballet to continue.  
"Seems intermission is over."  
Vostok turns to go, but Snart still has an ace up his sleeve.  
"Who wouldn't want to miss Queen Nisia dancing naked with the nymphs?"  
She's impressed and intrigued. Behind her, Raymond is pouting like a child.  
"My favorite part of the ballet."  
Of course it is. Snart keeps smiling. Being the perfect mysterious stranger to the Russian woman who lives for secrets. He keeps eye contact and waits.  
She shrugs, "But I've seen it so many times."  
"Perhaps, you wouldn't mind walking me home instead."  
It more of an offer than a question. There's no doubt in his mind the woman can take care of herself, but he feigns indifference and offers her his arm.  
As they walk away he can't help but look smugly back to the kicked puppy face Raymond is sporting.

They make it halfway down the sidewalk before he offers her his coat. She smiles at the gesture and takes it. It's far to cold for someone in her outfit to remain unaffected, but it's nothing to Snart.  
As they cross the street, a little drizzle begins to fall. Snart opens his umbrella and shields them from the weather. Raymond groans unhappily over the comms and he smiles.  
There's very little skin-on-skin contact, but they are huddled so close together that Snart's Infinite-Bond reaches out to the Russian scientist anyway. It lowers her walls and eases her into light conversation.  
The night air feels invigorating as it fills Snart's lungs. The woman's clutch is so easy to get a hold of and the contents are just as simple to procure.

"Are you sure you don't want your coat back? Can't believe how you're not freezing."  
"Oh, I LOVE the cold." Snart smiles, knowing the man on the other side of the comms will be annoyed at the pun.  
"And ballet."  
Valentina enjoys his smile.  
"So what is it about the ballet that you love, Valentina?" Snart asks, with actual curiosity. The dance did have it's merits, but there has to be a reason someone would sit for hours to watch others moving across a stage in odd get-ups.  
"Combination of grace and strength. Pushing the body to it's breaking point. A thing of beauty."  
Valentina was his kind of lady. Less frilly doll and more G. I. Jane.  
"My apartment."  
Snart is almost sad to come to the end of their little walk. She lets go of his arm to stand in front of him.  
"You know, uh, this time of night it's colder than a Siberian winter."  
"Sounds perfect." He can feel their Bond thrumming with what she's thinking.  
"Though I'm sure we could heat it up."  
There's hope and desire reaching out to Snart, trying to draw him in with her coy smile and sparkling eyes.  
"Sadly I have business elsewhere this evening." He might not mind the Russian lady, but he has no intention of forming a complete Bond with her either. She's got someone else in the world for that, assuming Savage didn't get her killed first.  
That and he really wanted to finish saving the world.  
"Well," she removes his coat slowly in a last ditch effort to seduce him, "if this is goodbye."  
Valentina leans forward and places a hand on his chin as she closes in for a kiss.  
The Infinite-Bond is soaring, having not experienced this type of connection in a long time. He can feel her smile against his lips as he deepens it for a moment.  
Surprisingly, she pulls away first. Eyes shining with desire.  
She smiles, settling for his umbrella.  
Her hips move with purpose as she walks away, promising him one last time if he should change his mind...

Snart lets her go, his own smile broadening as he turns his head to the side, "You enjoy the show, Raymond?"  
"I think I've got frostbite in some not-so-fun places. From waiting out here."  
Jealousy is not a pretty thing on the scientist.  
"Did she tell you what kind of weapon Savage is building?"  
Snart shrugs, "Didn't come up. Such a romantic evening, I didn't want to spoil the mood."  
"So other than a steamy good night kiss and possible case of hypothermia, we've got nothing!"  
Tut-tut, Raymond. No need to add depression to your already diminishing feelings.  
"I wouldn't say that." Snarts pulls out one of his prizes, "It's Valentina's security badge, for a place called Luskavic labs. Whatever weapon she's building for Savage we'll find it there."  
Raymond is impressed and unhappy at the same time. The man could be such a wish-wash when he's being bested by a 'no good criminal.'  
"I guess I should just be happy you didn't swipe her wallet."  
Snart keeps smiling as he shows the scientist his second prize. Honestly, didn't the man learn from their last venture? Why take one thing when you can take two?  
The look on Raymond's face was priceless.

 

Raymond manages to only complain three times about the swiped wallet on their way back. Mainly because Snart threatened to throw him into the nearest body of water if he didn't stop.  
The ship is remarkably quiet and Gideon informs them that Rip, Jax, Stein and Mick had gone off to do who knows what side errand their Captain deemed important.  
Raymond manages to loosen his tie before Rip comes stumbling through the doors.  
"Oh, gentlemen, I trust everything went according to plan?"  
"Piece of cake! Made contact with Vostok and swiped her badge."  
Raymond is quick to take all the credit. Snart isn't about to let that happen.  
"Thanks to me. Pretty Boy just froze." Because it's all great news until you find out the crook saved the day.  
Snart can't even enjoy Raymond's reaction because there's something wrong with Jax. He can tell even before he sees him coming through the door, bloody.

Mick admires the kid, but his compliment is cut short by Stein's angered words.

"We need to get you to the MedBay."  
Rip is going to help Jax get to medical, which is good. Snart's arm still tingles with Valentina's touch and the four added emotions aren't helping him focus. He strides out of the room after Mick to make sure he doesn't overdose on morphine.  
Drugs were Mick's third favorite thing, after fire and money.

Mick's already enjoying his high when Jax is helped into the room. There's a strain on his Multi-Bond and Snart sighs, knowing the old man must've yelled at the kid again.  
Rip eases the kid onto the chair next to his partner and Gideon gets to work mending the wound. The Captain stays just long enough to know Jax will be fine, before leaving.  
Mick's fast asleep by then and Snart moves to stand next to Jax.  
"You going to be okay?" he drawls, feeling the roaring anger and hurt from the kid.  
"Yeah," Jax huffs, but there's no conviction to it. It's like he's saying it to himself more than to Snart.  
"Let me know if Mick or I need to take a crack at the old man." Snart offers. The kid's Bond was a welcomed distraction to the new one from Valentina.  
The kid chuckles, his eyes closing as Gideon administers a sedative.

 

Snart is in his room when Gideon calls him to the bridge. Raymond and Rip are there waiting when he arrives.  
"What's going on?" he asks.  
"Dr. Stein has gone into Luskavic Labs on reconnaissance, but I fear he may be in need of assistance." Rip answers.  
"Let me guess, he didn't want to wait for Jax because it was going to be an easy look-see sort of job?" Snart drawled, wondering if the next 'Legend' was going to be responsible for their own deaths instead being killed of by an enemy.  
"What's important now is that you and Dr. Palmer go after him as support." Rip waves away any concerns or questions.  
It doesn't really matter anyway, Snart just takes the information about the lab's location and leaves with Raymond. He's not about to let one of Jax's Bond-Mates get killed if he can help it.

It's a good thing they go too. The second Stein figures out what the Russians are doing, he refuses to leave until he gets some core.  
"I just need someone to take the core offline so I can remove it safely and shield it!"  
"I'm all over it, Professor."  
Snart takes down both guards in three hits. He turns to correct Raymond.  
"We're all over it." Honestly, did the man try to take credit for everything he didn't do? He claims to hate violence and theft, but is more than willing to be the one who robbed the lady and hit the guards if it means a proud slap on the back.  
The two scientists babble on about science and Snart realizes that Pretty Boy is trying to impress the older man. What a pitiable situation.

"How we doing Boy Scout?" Snart asks, because the clock is ticking and there's no telling how soon the next set of guards will arrive.  
"Uh, point of fact, I completed all twenty-one merit badges. Including nuclear science. So, I'm an Eagle Scout."  
The man's so proud of himself that Snart can only nod.  
"Uh, oh, we've got a problem."  
Of course, because there can literally be no plan that doesn't go wrong.  
"Valentina's headed toward the core containment unit. The radiation Stein's about to unleash, if she opens the door-"  
"We're here to stop Savage from building a nuclear powered superhero," Snart interupts Raymond, the man talks too much, "Saving some Cami broad, aint on the agenda."  
"Even if the radiation doesn't kill her, Savage will the second he finds out the lab's been sabotaged. Look, we've got to get her out of here."  
Thinking with your heart and not your head again, genius.  
"Well, who's going to shut down the core, Raymond? I skipped that merit badge." Not to mention the fact that Snart's not interested in growing their Bond into something that will stick. The woman's either going to die today or they'll jump to another Time Line where she'll be dead and he'll still feel the loss.  
"Raymond, why is the thermocore still running at full power?"  
Maybe Stein's voice will make Mr. Save-Everyone see reason, but no Snart can already see the man switching gears to a new plan. No doubt a terrible plan.  
"I'll handle the core. You handle Valentina."  
There's no time for this. The idiot is wasting their time for a fool's errand!  
"You're willing to risk the mission for a woman you barely know." A woman who is clever enough to figure out Snart tricked her the other night and maybe even that he's working with the bright-eyed idiot. Someone who already chose her side and who she wanted to work for.  
"Be helpful to others."  
What? Snart shakes his head at the random statement.  
"It's the Scout motto."  
Of course it is, because Raymond's still stuck on his Eagle Scout bit. Yeah, yeah, you're very impressive with all those shapes sewn to your chest.  
Snart shoves the man back into the chair. He'll have to take care of Vostok after all, otherwise Raymond will just run after her on his own and Stein will never get the core out.  
"Thirty seconds. I'll get Vostok. You kill the power for Stein, and Raymond," he pauses, making sure the fool is looking him in the eye, "Promise me."  
Boy Scout nods and Snart makes his way out of the room. Foolish man and his foolish ideals...He's going to get someone killed some day.

It's surprisingly easy to get around the guards and make it in front of Vostok. Her heels click loudly on the cement floors as she approaches, but it's her Bond that sounds the loudest.  
"Bad idea." Snart turns the corner to block her way.  
"What are you doing here?"  
"Believe me, I've been asking myself the same question." Why did he decide to go with some nut-job Captain in a tin can full of miss-matched people to try and save the world through time? The question was more ridiculous than the answer.  
"The night at the Bolshoi."  
Her surprise is gone, replaced with disappointment.  
"It was you who stole my keys."  
Wonder how long it took her to get in without them?  
"And your wallet, but it was nothing personal." He adds, since they're sharing.  
She's angry at herself now, probably thinking their Bond was something more than friendly. He'd feel sorry for her if he wasn't the one who had to bear the greater burden. There was still a chance she could find her Bond-Mate. Their Bond would wipe away whatever she had with Snart like it never even happened.  
Snart would be stuck with it until it faded away.

"What is that man doing? He has no idea what the core is capable of."  
She's alarmed and worried for a stranger. Her and Raymond should get together and discuss random people they tried to save. Snart stays in her way and feels the urge to put her at ease.  
"Relax," he tells her calmly, "he's the one who invented it."  
Her eyes go wide and she takes a step back. A small smile tugs at the corner of her mouth.  
"Snart, you better keep Valentina out of the core containment unit."  
You're not the boss of me, Raymond. Why the inteligent woman would even risk going near that kind of radiation was beyond Snart.  
He remains steadfast in her way to it. Sliding side to side, like they're children playing a game.  
"You used me. You work for American government."  
"I'm wanted by the American government. Does that count?" Just because they weren't going to be Bond-Mates doesn't mean she has to throw around insults.  
"Look, I may be your white knight just this once. That weapon Savage has you building? He's creating a nuclear powered monster." She doesn't seem surprised. In fact, she's far too calm to learn what her boss is doing.  
Vostok lets out a breathy laugh.

He hears the click before he sees the gun.  
"I know."

He was right. Of COURSE he was right! They should have gone with his plan from the start. Why, WHY did he let that inept Captain listen to the naïve scientist?  
"It was sweet of you to think of me as a damsel in distress, but" she pauses, turning her head slightly in embarrassment for him, "I'm not the one who needs rescuing."  
"Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart. I'm not the sentimental type." Their Bond does not like the fact that she's got a weapon pointed at his head. She's excited to have the power over him, so that might be blocking the feeling.  
"Hm, but your partner? The physicist with the big, brown eyes? Is."  
He really wants his gun back.

She drags him by his arm to stand across from the room where Raymond is. He can see the man focused on the board through the glass where he had caught sight of Vostok earlier. To think, if not for that stupid piece of glass, this might never have happened.  
"How do expect to talk to him? He's kind of far, don't you think?" Snart tries to think of a way to stall her, to get out of this if he can. Vostok chuckles.  
"I know you have a communications device." She whispers in one ear.  
Vostok gets behind Snart and pushes the barrel of the gun under his chin. She pinches tightly at his shoulder to keep him in place.  
Snart is not an idiot. He's not about to try to escape with a gun so close to his face.

"Turn the core back online."  
Raymond stands, his concerned face coming into view even from their distance. Snart wants to shout at him to let him know how this is all Raymond's fault!  
"You will turn it back on, or I will put a bullet in your friend's head."  
"Don't you dare. She's going to shoot me whether you do it or not." Or she might not, because her finger keeps brushing against his neck and their Bond is growing. If he can just relax enough for them to connect, she won't be able to go through with the threat.  
Unfortunately, there's no way for Boy Scout to know that.  
"That may be true. And you can take that gamble if you like. It's only his life you wager."  
Come on Raymond, for once do the smart thing not the noble thing. Stein says he's almost there over the comms so they just have to play this game of chicken for a few more seconds.  
"I'm not joking, Raymond," Snart tries to intimidate the man who's showing all signs of making the wrong choice, "Don't you dare push that button."  
Just a few more seconds, Boy Scout. Don't think about it, just let the crazy Russian lady threaten me so the good professor will get the core and we can all go home.  
Raymond looks down and his hand moves. The idiot didn't listen. Again!  
"Raymond, what's going on? The core just went back online!" Stein confirms what Snart already knew.  
The bright-eyed, bushy-tailed scientist was incapable of listening!  
"I'm sorry, professor, I had to do it."  
Snart really, really hated Raymond.  
"You idiot!" If he could strangle the man with his glare, he would enjoy watching the man change colors. Vostok is practically glowing behind him with glee.  
They were going to fail another mission.

But Stein isn't going to leave without that core. He's going to take it with his bare hands, whether it's offline or not.  
The old guy had guts.  
There's a guard behind Boy Scout and Snart doesn't have time to warn him. He's down for the count and Snart's stuck watching Jax's Bond-Mate risk his life to save this mission. Even though it will likely still fail.  
"What are you doing, Grey?"  
Speaking of Jax... The kid tries to talk Stein out of it. If only the kid was more convincing, maybe the old guy would've made it out of the building and to safety.

Stein gets the core in a box and out of the containment unit, but he's surrounded by armed guards and there's no way he can escape now.  
As Vostok taunts the scientist, Snart doesn't understand why she hasn't loosened her grip on him. Maybe he bottled up the Bond too well and it isn't connecting properly?  
That would be the cherry on top of their newest disaster. The Infinite-Bond failing him just when he actually needed the thing to work!

Now Stein's captured and he's still a hostage. 

"What are you waiting for? You forget how to use that thing?" Because he won't let her parade him around like a toy. He'd rather have the bullet.  
"My employer, Mr. Savage, would very much like to meet you."  
So, she's no longer interested in killing him. That's an improvement, but Snart senses a familiar Bond creeping up behind them.  
"And the rest of your friends."  
"Careful what you wish for." Raymond may be a human sized teddy bear, but the man behind them is far from cuddly.  
"This where the party's at?"  
Mick fires his gun, scaring Vostok away from Snart. His partner kicks his weapon to him. He snatches it up and immediately shoots. Vostok is long gone. She's run behind a locked door and probably down a hidden flight of stairs.  
Mick gets shot in the shoulder and the pain radiates through their Bond. He's dropped his gun, so when a guard rushes at him from around the corner he resorts to his fists.

Rip's alarmed voice reaches Snart through the comms.  
"Do not let Vostok leave with that thermocore!"  
Snart goes to the railing and sees the container lying abandoned on the ground. He can grab it when he gets there, but first he has to help Mick.  
"Get outta here!" his partner orders, three guards on top of him. He can't leave though, not when- "What are you waiting for? Go! GO!"  
Mick's pushing at him with their Bond, which he has never done before.  
Snart knows his getaway, holsters his gun and climbs the railing.

He jumps.

Snart's shoulders protest against the leap as they're nearly yanked out of their sockets. He slides down the chain until he's close enough to fall the rest of the way.  
Someone shouts, but he keeps moving. There are bullets flying everywhere and it's a wonder the Russians don't accidentally shoot themselves.  
Snart grabs the case with the core and takes cover behind the containment unit. Several bullets narrowly miss hitting him.  
"Now might be a good time to send in reinforcements! Mick and Stein just got pinched by the Rusties!" Raymond would have to fend for himself. The man was responsible for getting them in this mess. If he had only listened to Snart from the start this fiasco could have been avoided.  
"Your gonna have to get out of there right now."  
That was not what Snart wanted to hear.  
"You're hanging us out to dry, Rip? I need backup!" That man brought them together as a team, so why isn't he sending the "team" in to help them?  
"I'm afraid our only option is retreat."  
The coward! "Our" only option? The man wasn't even here!  
"What about my partner?" What about Jax's Bond-Mate? What about your precious crew that you apparently don't really care about? You high-minded liar!  
"Until we devise our next move, Mr. Rory will have to fend for himself."  
He actually expects Snart to leave without them. Leave them behind in the hands of their enemies.  
"Remember the mission! If the Soviets get that thermocore back, your partner will not be the only one who dies."  
Way to hit where it hurts, Rip. That seems to be the only thing you're good at.  
Making speeches and convincing people to do what you want.  
Snart grunts, grabbing hold of the case.

He runs.

Something explodes to his left as he heads to the exit. He ducks his head because his goggles are around his neck and can't shield his eyes.  
There are a few more explosions, hundreds more bullets, but Snart makes it out of the building unharmed.  
Except for the pain being sent to him through Mick's Bond.

 

Snart sneaks onto the Waverider and places the case onto Rip's desk. He opens it and glares at the orb like it's to blame. He forces himself to take a deep breath.  
He mustn't shoot the Captain too soon. There's a point he needs to make first.  
Snart sits in Rip's chair and waits. He has no idea where the buffoon has gone off to but he better be heading back if he can feel any bit of Snart's anger.

"You managed to grab it." Rip practically stumbles into the room and sighs with relief at the grey orb.  
"Where was my backup, Captain?" The name leaves a sour taste on his tongue. "Half the team is gone." He charges his gun and points it at the time traveler. "Because of you."  
"Only if I had sent the other half in to save them they'd be captured too and where would we be?" Rip moves his hands away from the box, but he isn't afraid like he should be. "Hm? Savage would have both halves of Firestorm, a dead Kendra on top of a dead Carter, everything he wants."  
"It would be the end to our little crusade and most likely the world. So, before you" Rip pauses on the word, like he's not sure what it's called. "Pull that trigger, ask yourself, what would you have done?"  
Rip says "our" again like he actually believes they're on the same level with each other. The Captain finally shows some remorse at the end of his speech.

Snart blows out a breath with an unfriendly smirk.  
"That is a pretty COLD calculation, Rip." Snart keeps the weapon pointed at the man. Just for a few moments more to keep the other man focused. "Almost criminal."  
Snart finally lowers the weapon so he can get closer to Rip.  
"Except we criminals have a code: You never leave one of your own behind."  
"We will get them back."  
They better. Because even if Snart has to ice every last Russian guard, he's getting his partner back from Savage's clutches.  
He'll even steal the Jump Ship if need be.

 

Rip fills the others in about how important it was to keep them in the dark and how having the thermocore is more important than the other members of their crew.  
He's probably got another speech prepared for them so they feel empowered to go after the bad guys again.

Snart sits in Mick's room, takes the Cold Gun apart and puts it back together.  
The acrid smell of something burnt calming the feelings of anger and frustration rolling in his gut. The last piece clicks into place and the gun powers up.  
He forcefully pushes Vostok's Bond down as deep as it will go.  
The next time he sees her, he's using his original plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation: /*"Over the years of my research, I have discovered a minute difference in the Bonds as we know them. Especially the rare Multi-Bonds. I find there is a way to be Bonded without an actual physical reaction. Bonds can be completely platonic. For example, the Three Musketeers were a well known group of Multi-Bonds who never, if you will excuse my term, 'knocked boots' together. They each had there own lovers and one musketeer was a well known ladies man."*/
> 
> +{I couldn't read the name on the woman's tag, so I just used the actress's real name.}


	5. "Fail-Safe" (Ep 5)

/*"Bonds are tricky things. They're not black and white or capable of being labeled. We use the six Bond titles to make it easier to address them, but a Bond, like every other thing in life, isn't easy at all. It's a connection, that runs deep or shallow. You don't really understand it until you've experienced it first hand, and it's never the same for every person."*/

 

"Labor Camp number 54..."   
Gideon starts filling Rip and Sara in on what the AI thinks is important, but a history lesson isn't what they need right now.  
"Can we skip passed the Wikipedia crap and get to the good stuff?" He's restless, far too restless after not being able to sleep all night, "Like how to break in?"  
The AI is silent because, apparently, even super computers get stumped. Rip looks up too, also surprised at the computer's lack of answer.  
"Perhaps you didn't register that as a question, Gideon?" Sara asks, confused, but also holding out a small amount of hope.  
"I understood." Was it just Snart or did the AI have an attitude problem? "But in it's 200 years of operation, no one has successfully escaped from-"  
"No offence, Gideon, but I never met a building I couldn't break in to." That's not all true, he means every bit of offence he can muster to the robotic side-kick of Rip Hunter.  
"Well I hope you're right," the bane of his existence says, "Savage knows that Stein created Firestorm, but if he finds out that he is Firestorm..."  
The man trails off, which is good because Snart might just have to clock him.   
"Always Savage with you isn't it?" This isn't about saving his partner, or Stein, or even that nuisance Raymond. This is about the cretin captain and his revenge. "My partner's in prison too."  
"And Ray."  
"Yeah, whatever." The man got himself caught because he was trying too hard to be the goodie-goodie. Snart's still angry at him for getting Mick and Stein caught. "The point is, YOU didn't lift a finger!"  
"You know it was never my intention to get them thrown into a Gulag!"  
Rip's shouting right off the bat, defensive. The man is reeking of guilt but he's hiding it behind anger and worry. Snart doesn't care how guilty the man gets.  
"But I had no other option."  
Snart rolls his eyes. 'No other option'-Ha! The man didn't want to leave the safety of his precious time ship. Didn't want to risk the other members because as long as there were some of them, there was still hope to win out over Savage.  
"Besides, I doubt that it's Mr. Rory's first time in prison, or second, or I imagine tenth."  
Why the little-  
"Alright! Arguing is not going to bring the team back any faster."  
Sara's voice is the only thing that saves Rip from a bloody nose, all risk of Bond forgotten. Snart takes a breath and tries to calm his anger, use the energy to think this through and save Mick.  
"And Rip's right."  
What? The assassin can't be serious.  
"Criminals do feel more at home in prison."  
Spoken like someone who hasn't been locked up long enough. It's not a vacation home.   
"And, they know it better than anyone else."  
She might have something there though, "So?"  
"So what if the key to breaking in, is asking someone who's been in and out of Soviet prisons their whole life?"  
The blonde had more to her than the ability to knock heads together.  
"And who might that be?"  
As expected, Rip is still useless.  
"Are you familiar with the Bratva?"  
"Oo, the Russian mob." Sara is officially on his list of crew members he likes. "In 1986 they would have ruled the criminal underground inside every prison."

It's simple enough to track the man they need down, but Snart would have preferred a different venue. A steam room where there's the most exposed skin as is decent is a personal nightmare of his, not to mention the uncomfortable heat. By some good grace, he gets his hands on a bathrobe instead of a wimpy towel like Rip.   
Sara is going to take care of their target's men while Snart has to play back up for Captain Moron.  
Their man walks in and Rip comments on his tattoos to start the conversation. The Russian's disinterested but hears him out. When Rip introduces himself Snart is convinced the man thinks he's in a movie.   
Finally, they get to the part where the imbecile mentions the prison.  
"We need to break into that prison. And can you make it fast? I despise the heat." Rip turns his head, annoyed at the interruption to his dramatic meeting. Snart could care less.  
"A man by the name of Vandal Savage runs a secret operation out of it ah-" Pause for dramatic affect? Really, Rip? "Prison within a prison, if you will."  
"I've heard of this Savage."  
The Russian moves closer to Rip to intimidate him.  
"He has no respect for my country's rich criminal traditions."  
Maybe convincing this guy will be easier than Snart thought. "So you'll help us?"  
"You men have no tattoos. And a man who has no life story cannot be trusted."   
Guess not. That's an interesting philosophy to live by, though.  
The Russian calls for his minions, causing the two guys to Snart's right to make their escape out of the room. Mustn't want to see the bloodshed.   
But Sara's already working on the muscle if the shouts and groans from the other room are any indication.

"Ignore and Andre seem to be a bit preoccupied. Now, about that Gulag."  
It's like watching Raymond strike out with Vostok all over again. His 'teammates' were just incapable of convincing outsiders to do what they want.  
"No matter. In this life? A man fights for himself."  
Rip's anxiety is a wonderful thing. Snart might not have been able to land a blow on the man earlier, but he's more than happy to let the mobster do the hitting for him.  
"Perhaps you'd like this one?" Rip practically pleads.  
Oh, no, Rip, you deserve this. "He's all yours."  
The Russian tackles Rip to the ground with a yell and Snart has to stop himself from cheering. It's a pity that the mobster's first punch misses. Rip gets a chop in, but then his opponent lands a nice side kick to his ribs.   
Snart follows the last man to the door so he can lock it. No need for Sara to interrupt.  
"So you like having Vandal Savage run his evil empire in your country?"  
Talking won't save you now, Rip. You're going to have to defeat the mobster if you expect him to listen to you.   
Rip's punch gets blocked and the mobster lands a vicious back fist.   
"As much as a pig enjoys being Christmas dinner."  
The Russian lands another back fist hit, spilling Rip's blood. The time traveler ducks the second blow and gets a hit in to the Russian's jaw. He dodges another one of the mobster's swings and lands his second blow to the other's jaw before being slammed in the side and sent falling back onto the bench.  
"Help us and we will destroy his entire operation."  
Rip tries to get a strong kick to the Russian's chest with a yell, but it only makes the larger man take a step back, while Rip end up shoving himself back into the bench.  
That doesn't deter the captain, because he keeps his fists up, ready to continue the brawl.

But there's a tap on the glass and Sara's there to ruin Snart's fun.

"I just took out six men. You guys couldn't handle one?"  
Why stop a perfectly good beat down to a man who deserves it? Not to mention the fact that Snart had no desire to Bond with the sweaty tower of human mass.  
"You killed my men?" The Russian is shocked and impressed.  
"They're not dead, yet." Sara sighs the last word like a soft threat.   
The assassin was good.  
"And neither are you, assuming you help us."  
Very good indeed. In two sentences she's already convinced the man to help them.  
"My organization runs black market goods into Koshmar."   
"Three of our, uh-" Rip falters at the sight of his own blood. "oh, um, comrades, are being held there by Savage."  
"Koshmar's not a hotel for petty criminals. If your friends are there...They must be insane, ruthless animals."  
That seals it. Raymond is dead.

The Russian's name is Yuri. They talk about the Gulag and he gives them a way in.   
Snart helps himself to a few bottles of Vodka before they leave. Mick will appreciate the alcohol.

Back at the Waverider, they go over the schematics again on the table computer.  
"Auhm, according to Yuri, this is where his men have access. Got it?"  
"This isn't my first prison break." Did the man forget he was a thief who had escaped prison a few times already? Or did he just really like to hear himself talk?  
"We've got it covered."  
Even Sara thinks the man's talked too much. He liked her more and more.  
Kendra and Jax are on the bridge now. The kid still doesn't look too good.   
"So, how can we help?"  
"By staying on the ship, we don't need any more casualties."  
Does that make Sara and Snart expendable? Not that it mattered on his end, he was going no matter how dangerous the mission was.  
"Besides, Mr. Snart and Sara have go it covered..."  
Thanks for the fake vote of confidence, Rip.   
"Woah, woah man. Why's it feel like we on the JV team all of a sudden?"  
Jax is understandably angry about being left out. It's his Bond-Mate who's being kept in the Gulag after all.  
"What you are is one half of everything Savage needs to change the face of the Cold War." Rip dismisses the kid. He turns to Kendra. "And you! Are the only person who can kill him."  
And there's the clincher. The real reason Rip won't let them go is because he needs them safe if there's any hope for his revenge. Snart, Sara, Mick, they're all expendable.  
"Yeah, so you can't just-"  
"I am not going to gift wrap the two people in the world that Savage wants the most!"  
Rip's not going to change his mind. As much as Snart would like to help Jax get Stein back, he doesn't want to risk the kid's life or lower their chances by dragging him along. He'll let Rip win on this one.  
"We should get going."  
He'll go get the scientist for the kid.   
"Oh, Miss Lance, could I borrow you for a moment? I have something that might help you out with the mission."  
Translation: I have a secret side mission for you that might make it harder to actually pull this off. Do you mind listening to my stupidity?  
Snart walks off the bridge to get ready.

The guard uniforms for him and Mick are made by the time Snart finds Sara in the cargo hold suiting up.  
"Impressive how many weapons you can fit in that outfit." It's a light tease, he needs to ease her in to conversation. She tosses him Raymond's little toy suit. "And how much stupidity Raymond can squeeze into this one."  
"The plan is to save him too, not just Stein and your partner."  
Was the assassin capable of reading minds? Was that something they taught in assassin school? Or did he project too much loathing whenever the man's name came up?  
"Oh, I'm gonna save Raymond all right." Snart puts the suit into his back pocket. "So I can beat some sense into him."  
Or let Mick beat some sense into him. Whichever came first. Assuming the scientist was still alive.  
But that's not why he came here to talk to her.   
"And what about you?" What has you so tense and self-loathing?   
"What about me?"  
"Clearly I'm not the only one with a side mission. What did Rip keep you after class to talk about?" Because even though the man considered himself their leader, he wasn't. Far from it, really.  
"He just wanted to go over a few details of the plan."  
Tisk, tisk, Sara, didn't they teach you how to lie better than that?   
Blunt force it is then, "He wants you to take out the old man, doesn't he?"  
Sara stops what she's doing.   
"It's the obvious play. It's also," He take a breath to draw attention to the word, "heartless."  
"The plan is to save Stein." Sara interrupts him, pausing on the scientist's name. "And if, for whatever reason, we can't." Another hesitation, another regret for what's been asked of her. "Rip showed me what will happen to my home in 2016. To our families."  
The Captain was using a possible future to strong arm Sara into doing his dirty work. Something the man himself couldn't stomach but is all too willing to convince a member of his 'crew' to do.  
"If Stein breaks the damage is irreversible."  
And killing someone isn't? Rip already said they can't play in time's where they were involved. There's no going back for a do-over once Stein's dead.  
And what about Jax? The kid and Stein are connected as Firestorm and it will literally kill the kid if the scientist dies. Next to Mick and Sara, Jax was the only other person Snart actually liked.  
"Been on a lot of heists and even when things got rough, I never took out one of my own." It's not even something he considered.  
"Well this isn't a bank heist."  
Like that makes a difference.  
"First he left my partner twisting in the wind, now he's going to have you ice old Silver Top." The man was as cruel as the monster he wants to defeat. "We're all just pawns, Sara."  
Snart won't allow himself to be played.   
She's still messing with her weapons. Still trying to convince herself that this is a good Plan B. Snart pushes on, "Come on: I'm the crook, you're the assassin..."  
"He's not just asking me to kill. He's asking me to save the future."  
A dark task disguised as a noble deed. Manipulation was Rip's strong suit for sure.  
"And if for whatever reason we can't save Stein, then I'm gonna do what needs to be done."  
Snart watches her check her gun and finish stowing her weapons. She ignores him.  
He decides to go get ready himself and let her stew a little. There'll be time to convince her later.

In the back of the truck, Snart keeps a cool glare pointed at Sara. She refuses to make eye contact with him and shifts uncomfortably every few seconds. He needs to wait until they're out of the vehicle, away from the risk of Rip hearing them.  
The truck stops and the guard takes the bribe.  
Sara leaps out first, and Snart follows behind. They crouch at the gate and she turns to him. "Remember, we get Stein first."  
"And if the plan fails, you kill him. You want my advice?"  
This might be his last chance to make her see reason.   
"No."  
Too bad because I'm going to give it to you anyway.  
"Don't use your gun. Do it with your hands. Do it while you're looking right into Stein's eyes."  
She stops him from going on, "You're talking about a member of our team."  
Exactly!  
"I just don't want you" Snart points at her. "to forget who we're talking about."  
The look on her face makes him think he might have actually gotten through to her.   
But he needs to move. Their window of opportunity is open and if things can just work out like they're supposed to, for once, it won't even matter that Rip's sent her on a kill mission against one of their own.

Inside the prison, Sara hides under the sheet on the gurney. He can feel Mick's Bond but doesn't have the luxury of being relieved because he his partner is being tortured. He's glad the assassin can't see him as he doubles over.   
"What are you doing?" She whispers harshly to him and he has to close off the connection as best he can.   
With a grunt he pushes the gurney down the hallways while she quietly gives him directions. 

"So how does it feel to be dead again?" He tries to distract himself. Mick's not being tortured anymore, but now his partner's unnaturally worried about something.   
"Take the next left."  
Snart does and almost runs over a guard.  
"You can't be down here, comrad."  
Rats, he'll have to talk his way out of this one. The lie easily falls out of his mouth, "I was ordered to take this corpse to the incinerator."  
The guard goes to move the sheet.   
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Dr. Vostok used him for one of her small pox weapons trials..."  
He catches sight of Raymond being carried by two guards. He's alive after all.  
"Highly contagious." Mick comes out next, in much better shape than the scientist, and they make eye contact. Their Bond sparks even from across the room.   
There's hope in Mick's eyes right before a guard punches him in the gut.  
Anger boils in Snart's gut.

He takes Sara to the next stop in their original plan. She flies off the gurney reminding him of their next step.  
Snart feels slightly guilty to have to interrupt her, "Yeah, I'm not going."  
"That's the plan."  
It wasn't a fool proof plan or even a very good plan.   
"That's Rip's plan." Snart reaches down under the gurney to get his bag. "My priority, is Mick."  
He looks at her, challenging her to convince him that saving his partner isn't the most important thing. She doesn't even try. "Fine! Forget it. So much for your code. Crook."  
He may be a crook but he still has more moral standards than their captain.  
"Any time, Assassin."  
Snart won't hold it against her for not understanding. Her Bond is Broken. There's no one connected to her, reaching out to her and making her feel like crap.  
He needs to get Mick out of here, then they can save Stein.

Somehow, even in a foreign country, in a foreign time, Mick has managed to start a fire. At least his partner hasn't set his bed aflame.  
"You call that a flame?" He smirks as the relief coming from his partner mixes with his own.  
"Ah, nice costume."  
"Got one for you too." Snart tosses his partner the bag.  
"Ha!" Mick rips into it like a kid at Christmas.  
"Wakey, wakey! Time to shrink." Raymond's out cold, so it doesn't even bother Snart's Bond when he touches him. He puts the toy suit in the scientist's pocket. "Or not."  
"Let's go." He tells Mick who already has his gun out and charged. Figures that would take priority over the guard outfit.  
"What about him? We can't just ditch him. He won't survive."  
Since when did Mick and Boy Scout become friends? Since when did Mick care about anyone else? He'll have to make him see reason.  
"Two guards walking out of here: Not suspicious. Two guards carrying him out:" Snart points at the still unconscious man, "suspicious."  
"He took a beating for me."  
Which is wonderful news for the man's backbone, but not relevant.  
"Raymond would take a beating for a total stranger." He was the reason you two are in this cell to begin with. "Mick, if our time in the can taught us anything, it's we look after each other. It's you and me, right?"  
Mick looks back to Raymond lying on the bed and Snart frowns in frustration.

"I'm not leaving him." Mick states, then moves to put on the uniform.   
Snart pinches the bridge of his nose. He's not going to be able to convince his partner out of it. He just hopes they can make it out of there without any surprises.

Once dressed, Mick hauls Raymond onto his back and together they make their way out of the prison. Snart's irritation grows with every step.  
"I can't believe you're risking your life for this idiot."   
Mick doesn't answer. 

The lights go out and here come the surprises.  
"Electro-magnetic locks." He tells Mick as the cell doors begin to open.  
"We're dressed as guards!"  
Somehow, this reeks of Rip's doing. So help him, if they die because of something that idiot has done Snart will haunt him for the rest of his time traveling life!  
He'll have to be angry at the man later, right now they need to, "Run!"

They turn back and head the other way. A gun goes off and someone orders the inmates to get back in their cells. When did that ever work?  
Mick shoves someone into on of the cells, radiating hate to the man, and Snart slams the door shut.   
"Enjoy your new cellmate! Ta!"   
They're on the move again while man's voice shouts out, "Nooo!"  
Mick is overjoyed at the noise.

They're away from the cells, and nearly free now.  
"That door leads to the loading bay. From there you can get to the Jump Ship." If nothing else, Rip was good at bringing an appropriate getaway vehicle.  
"Hey, Mick, this is a strange kind of hug."  
Shut up, Raymond and go back to sleep.  
"Where are you going?"   
"I got something to do." Namely, make sure Sara doesn't go through with Rip's horrible Plan B and get Jax's Bond-Mate back like he said he would.

He has to dodge inmates and sneak around guards, but he makes it back outside where they're herding the professor. He catches sight of Jax while Sara's trying to talk to Rip over the comms. The captain isn't responding.  
It's easier when you don't directly tell someone to take another's life.  
"I have the shot."  
Snart really hopes their comms aren't connected, or else Jax just heard Sara say she's going to kill Stein.  
Either way, he can't let her go through with it.  
"Sara, don't do it."  
Don't be a monster. Don't be the killer you were trained to be.  
"I don't have a choice, it's the only way to save Star City. The future."  
Snart doesn't believe in absolutes. There are no "only ways," just undiscovered solutions.  
"That's how a killer thinks. And that's not you anymore." Snart knows about the darkness. He might not understand it, but he feels how it eats away at her. She doesn't want to be the ruthless killer she was made to be. She wants to become the hero that Rip Hunter told her she could be.  
Sara's breathing is forced, there are too many emotions battling it out in her head.  
But she doesn't pull the trigger and Snart lets out a breath.

Sara joins Snart and Jax in the yard.   
"You okay, kid?" Snart asks, noticing the way the other favors one leg.  
"It's nothing." Jax shakes his head. "We gotta get, Grey."  
"Any ideas how?" Snart looks around them.

The three of them watch the madness as they try to decide what to do next.  
"Sara? Sara, are you there?" Rip's voice joins them as if he'd been with them the whole time instead of abandoning them again.  
"Now you're on the comms!" Sara is angry and annoyed. "We need to get outta here."  
A flaming Vostok comes out of the door where Stein was brought in last.   
They've created a Russian Firestorm after all.   
And she's already using her powers to hit people with fireballs.

Snart raises the Cold Gun but Jax puts up an arm to stop him from firing.  
"Woah, don't shoot! Grey's in there!"  
He powers down the weapon.  
"A lot of good it would do anyhow."   
As much as it pains him to think it, Sara's right.  
"Man screw this."  
Jax starts hobbling towards the flame covered female.  
"What are you doing?"  
Jax stops long enough to tell them, "I'm getting Stein back."  
Not alone you're not.  
"We'll cover you." Snart recharges the weapon, following the kid and firing at anyone who approaches.   
Sara doesn't waste time getting into a fight with a few guys of her own.

Jax makes it to Vostok, but the woman blasts him away.  
Snart can't get to him, there are too many people in the way. But the kid's tough.   
Jax rolls over and points at the woman. "I know you're in there Grey!"  
"And he's begging for you to save yourself."  
"I wasn't talking to you." The kid forces himself back up.  
Good job, Jax. Get through to that old man. Snart shoots another person who tries to get too close.  
"I was talking to Professor Stein."  
Vostok laughs. Sara lands another blow to her attacker.  
"You're mind is stronger than hers, Grey." Jax is making his way towards the flaming scientist. "I get it. I know why you've been so hard on me."  
Sara and Snart manage to move out of the way of the fights and watch as Jax continues to reach out to Stein with his words and with their Multi-Bond.   
"You're trying to protect me. You don't want to lose me like you lost Ronnie."  
Ronnie? There was another one?   
Vostok tries to blast Jax again, but nothing happens.  
"And that's why I know you're not gonna let her kill me."  
Vostok tries again and fails again. Raymond and Rip could really learns something from Jax. The kid was good at reaching people.  
"Cause I've had you inside of my head and I know what a tough old son of a gun you can be."  
Vostok's attempts to blast him are desperate now, but just as useless.  
"So you gotta fight her." Jax is right in front of her now. "Because you and me-We're Firestorm, Grey. You and me."  
Jax clasps his hand with Vostok's and it explodes, pushing the kid back again.

But now Stein's separated from Vostok.

"Jefferson! You okay?"  
The professor helps the kid to his feet while Snart and Sara start to go towards them.  
"Yeah. You?"  
"Yeah."  
Snart and Sara reach the pair and Vostok's screams catch their attention.  
"Not for long."  
The woman's flames have changed colors and Snart can feel part of her pain as the radiation eats away at her.  
"I tried to warn her. Without the splicer and myself the nuclear powers are dangerously unstable."  
Vostok's Bond is still there, even though Snart did everything he could to crush it. There just wasn't enough time for it to fade away and it burns as he hears her screaming. He doesn't try to help her though. He can't.  
"It appears Dr. Vostok is having a bit of a-meltdown-it's, it's fascinating."  
Snart's not sure if that was meant as a joke, or if the scientist is genuinely fascinated by the woman dying in front of them.  
"I think what he means to say, is run!"  
Sara's voice break them all out of their wide-eyed stare and running to their escape.  
"I'll have the Jump Ship waiting just beyond the main gate."

Snart stays in the back as the others board the ship, gun at the ready in case anyone tries to board.  
Rip pulls up and the door closes against the final harsh screams of Valentina Vostok.

The Gulag explodes.

 

Gideon patches up their wounded teammates as best she can and they all decide to have a celebratory drink.  
Kendra and Jax invade Rip's record collection and the Birdie puts on a vinyl.  
"Courtesy of Yuri the Bear."  
Snart was surprised when his partner decided to share the liquor he stole for him.   
"How did you even have time to steal this?"  
"There's always time to steal." Snart tells her with pride. Multi-tasking, people, it wasn't so hard.  
"Thank you." Raymond raises his glass to Mick. "And, just so you know, I know you're more than just a thief."  
Oh, great, Boy Scout is going to try to be best buds with Mick.  
"You took a beating for me. We're even. End of story."  
Please leave it at that, nope Raymond has to add a sincere, "Thank you."  
"More drinking. Less feeling."  
There should be enough alcohol for Mick to get properly sloshed. It should wipe away the irritation that is Raymond's good nature.  
"A toast! To the first time we haven't completely ruined the Time Line."  
Snart doubts Stein would be as cheerful if he knew how the dear captain was willing to kill him off.  
"Please tell me that's true Gideon."  
"The projections of the future are back to normal."  
At least they were back to normal, not-good news.  
"I'll drink to that."  
"To Rip! To things NOT going according to his plan." Snart knows the others won't understand the meaning to his words. Only Sara knows he's talking about the fact Rip thinks of them as disposable objects instead of fellow crew members.  
Jax is nodding and it makes his gut clench tightly. Better make sure the kid never finds out.  
"To the Captain!"  
"To the Captain!"  
Yeah, to Captain Kamikaze, only he put other people in the planes...

"All right."  
"Hold on, Jefferson." Stein stops the kid from taking a drink. "You're not quite twenty one.  
Really? After everything you two just went through, the old man was going to stop the kid from a little vodka? Snart thinks about intervening, but Sara beats him to it.  
"In 1986 the drinking age in Russia was twelve, so."  
"Well, perhaps we can let it slide this one time..."  
Snart stops paying attention to them after that. His Bond with Mick is humming as his partner sits nearby, but there's a hole where the one with Vostok was. He knows it'll go away in a few days, reminds himself of what she did to his partner, how angry he was at her... But it doesn't affect the feeling.  
It's like trying to have a meaningful conversation with a gunshot wound.

There's a crash and Snart's thrown from his chair.  
"What was that?"   
"We have been struck with an explosive projectile."  
Great, just when he thinks he can relax. Snart moves to the chairs on the bridge. Mick following right behind him.  
"No kidding."  
"Everyone get strapped in. NOW!"  
We're not your children, Rip. I think they know what to do when someone starts firing at the ship!  
"We're in the Temporal Zone. I don't understand. No one should be able to-"  
Rip's complaints are cut short by another hit.  
"You were saying?" Clearly, someone figured out how. 

"A scan of the vessel suggests that it is the bounty hunter, Chronos."  
"Aw, man, this guy has impeccable timing!"  
My thoughts exactly, Jax. 

"He appears to be following us."  
Such a shame that the man who is hunting them doesn't give up.  
"Firing counter measures."  
There's an explosion on the side of the ship big and bright enough to be seen from Snart's seat.  
"Counter measures effective."  
"Have we lost him?"  
"Yes, but not his missile."  
So we don't have a killer on our backs, but we're still going to get killed.  
Wonderful.  
"Our aft shield is gravely compromised."  
"Initiating evasive maneuvers."  
Which means, turn the ship in such a way that it's as uncomfortable as possible.  
"Vodka was a bad choice."  
Don't you dare lose it, Raymond. Having you throw up in the middle of being blown to pieces would be an all time low.  
"Impact in 3..." Why did computers feel the need.   
"2..." To count down to death?   
"1"

The missile hits and the ship jerks them in their seats. Rip shouts and Snart's glad they're still alive. But for how much longer?  
"Sir, we've just been knocked out of the Time Stream."  
"What does that mean?"  
"Means we're crash landing," Rip breathes, "in place," another breath, "and time."

 

Gideon manages to prevent another horrible crash landing, but just barely.  
They leave the ship and walk into a decimated city.  
"Gideon, camouflage the ship. This doesn't look the type of place you'd want to linger out in the open."  
No, it's more of the type of place where you're robbed and mugged.   
If everyone wasn't dead yet.

"That looks a lot like a Palmer Tech building, but why does it have a "Smoak" logo on it?"  
Now's not the time to complain about other people touching your toys, Raymond.  
"Wait, this is Star City. I thought you said the Time Line was safe?"  
"Well, Star City was intact in 2016. This-This is 2046."  
A hooded guy comes out of nowhere and jumps atop a tall truck.  
"Don't move."  
Sara is relieved to see him, but the Hood doesn't share that feeling.  
"I said don't move."  
"I-It's me. It's Sara"  
That doesn't seem to do the trick either. The Hood is still suspicious of them.  
"Hey, Oliver, look. I-I know it's been a long time, but, don't you remember that Rip Hunter recruited us to become Legends?"  
Oliver?   
"I never heard of any Legends." The Hood pulls an arrow to his bow and fires.

 

-


	6. "Star City 2046" (Ep. 6)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I hated this episode. I don't even really know WHY, I just GRARGHFPTHSWEBVLNA! You know? You might sense my lack of 'enthusiasm' in the work and I am truly, truly sorry for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When tragedy besets us, we rise up all the more ready to do that which we think is needed... After everything goes wrong, there is the desire to makes things right.

The arrow goes flying through the group, everyone but Mick dodging it. Snart's partner is already aiming and shooting his weapon at the UnBonded Hood.  
The Hood ducks, notching another arrow that he shoots upwards. It's a grappling hook of some sort and the man is moving towards them.  
"Get back!" Stein says, and everyone takes cover. Jax rolls next to Snart.  
The Hood drops down where they were standing and runs near Snart. He moves to guard the kid, but the Hood just runs passed them to get at a better angle to start firing at them again.  
"This guy a friend of yours? I don't like him!"  
Mick's angry, which is understandable. Snart's not too keen on getting antique weapons lodged into his person. He swings over the chunk of building and tries to hit their enemy. Rip joins him with his futuristic pistol.  
"What are you doing?"   
Sara is still shocked and confused at her 'friend' trying to kill them.   
"It's called shooting back!"   
Did she think they were going to just let the guy murder them? They hadn't even messed up this part of the Time Line! Why was the man shooting at them?  
The Hood falls back for another vantage point.  
"This can't be the Green Arrow."  
Kendra is scared and confused from her hiding place by Raymond's side. "Green Arrow" ah, yes, that do-gooder from Star City. He had turned up in Central once or twice. Maybe the hero decided to turn to the dark side?  
"That's not Oliver Queen."  
So much for a 'secret identity' Sara. Snart knows they're all a 'team' and everything, but maybe shouting out another man's identity loud enough for two known criminals to hear isn't the best choice. It's something Raymond would do.  
The Hood keeps moving, keeps firing at them.

"Sure dresses like it."  
Mick almost gets the Hood with his gun, but the man slides just out of reach. He doesn't miss a beat, immediately returning fire again once he makes cover.  
"Shoots arrows like him." They need to move. Get somewhere safe or get the upper hand on their attacker.  
"Well whoever he is, I don't plan on sticking around to get shish-kabobed by this dude."  
Jax's high pitched tone and fear propels Snart to his feet to shoot at the Hood again. The man rolls out of the way.   
"Kid's right, let's stay behind and kill him."  
As much as Snart likes that idea, they really don't have a way to do that in their current position. the Hood keeps shooting, keeps jumping and dodging and moving like an expert. How many arrows can he have in that quiver?  
"We need to return to the ship!"  
Yes, thank you, Rip. That was obvious, since no one had any better ideas. Snart wasn't about to try talking down their attacker and the area was too unfamiliar to form a proper attack plan.  
As per his usual cowardice, Rip runs for it first. Sara runs after him while Raymond and Kendra follow. Mick pushes Stein ahead of himself as they move. Jax looks to Snart and he motions with his head for the kid to go first. Without Stein, Jax has no way to defend himself.   
Snart takes up the rear and feels the heat of the explosion as they make their escape.

It's apparently enough for the Hood to send them scurrying away like rats, because he doesn't follow after them. They make it back to the Waverider without any injuries.

"Alright, Rip, tell us the truth."   
Because when does the man ever NOT lie? It's like a TV show where each episode is Rip revealing another secret or making up a new lie to tell his 'team.'  
"You've all seen how the Time Line is malleable. In flux until it is set." Rip moves so that the table computer is in the way of anyone rushing at him. Perhaps he's worried the assasin will take a shot at him? "Well this future is NOT set."  
Something else on the ship blows as if to give dramatic flair to Rip's words. Mick moves next to Snart, bored and angry that he didn't get a crack at the Hood. Snart hopes the ship isn't going to fall to pieces on them.  
"Ru-Remember when I told you it was dangerous for any of you to know too much about your own futures? Well the events that you dread, could very well come to be due to your actions to prevent them."  
"You know what I think? I think you think too much."  
Snart has to agree with Mick. Rip is being vague and trying to use his "I'm a Time Master" knowledge to stop them from being too curious about this stop in the Time Line. Even the others are getting fed up with the man's time talk.  
"Believe me when I tell you that the best thing for yourselves, and for this mission, is to make the repairs to the Waverider here in 2046. Then head back to your own time and make sure that none of this ever comes to be."  
That sounds like double-talk and doesn't make any sense. Don't mess with the Time Line, but make sure you go back and change the Time Line? What?  
Mick's confusion is mixing with his own through their Bond and the swarming emotions from the other's isn't helping clear his head any faster. 

 

Rip gets Jax and Raymond to work on the ship, while he shows Mick and himself a chunk of metal they need to find a replacement for.   
"It's not money, it's not jewels, it's not a valuable artifact." Mick is not impressed with the job. "You're just lucky I'd steal anything right about now."  
It's true. Due to their inability to defend themselves from the Hood, his partner is itching to do something with his hands. Anything, really.  
"As I suspected."  
Rip's cocky behavior is going to get him beat up again. Snart doesn't have time to stop a fight, so he decides to prevent it.  
"We'll get your gizmo," he says dismissively, putting on his second glove, "You just get this bucket flyin again."  
Because less time wasted in a Time Line that won't help them stop Savage is more time used to actually finish this fool's crusade.  
"I'm coming with." Sara joins the party, dressed in her Canary suit.  
"No! No, you are not. You're too emotionally connected to this city."  
Sara is ignoring Rip, putting on her coat. Good for her. She shouldn't listen to the man who manipulated her.  
"We've been over this!"   
Rip tries again but Sara turns her anger to him, "I'm over you."   
Oh? Could there be someone who dislikes the captain as much as Snart?  
"You've got us on a mission to change the Time Line for yourself and you won't even let us look at our futures? Now, I know this city. Better than anyone else and you're gonna need me out there." Snart has no problem with Sara coming along. "So, either I'm coming with, or we can find out if the Time Masters are as good at teaching people to fight as the League of Assassins."  
Snart retracts his previous thoughts about a fight. He is more than willing to allow Sara to wipe the floor with the time traveler. He'll just make sure she doesn't kill him.  
But Rip backs down, quelled by the anger rolling off of Sara like one of Mick's flames. He moves his hand to open the door and the assassin walks off the ship.

"Blondie's got some guts," Mick comments to him in a low growl as they follow after. His partner's impressed. Maybe when this is all over with, the assassin might want to try her hand at being a Rogue?  
It might be worth asking in the future.

 

Mick takes his place beside Rip as they walk, Snart walking beside Sara.  
"If this is just a potential future, it doesn't matter if we kill anyone here, right?"  
Good question. If theses are just the shadows of things that might be, what does it matter if they die? The new Time Line would re-set as if it never happened.  
There are gun shots going off in the distance, and Snart keeps and eye out for unfriendlies. As well as landmarks they might need later.  
"Well, to avoid the risk of a paradox, it's probably best to refrain from," Rip pauses as if he needs to be delicate, "killing anyone."  
That doesn't really answer the question, as usual, and it certainly won't stop his partner.  
"I'm not gonna promise anything."  
Which is as good as Rip's going to get. Hopefully the kid and Bright-Eyes can fix the ship before Mick sets the crumbling city even more ablaze than it already is.  
"My sister's apartment used to be over here."  
The building's utterly destroyed. How Sara can even tell where they are is a marvel in itself. Not that he likes the boys in blue, but their lack of presence is alarming.   
"Seem to remember something about your father being a Police Captain?"  
He read the files of his fellow 'Legends' early on this trip, whatever Gideon had on them at least. Knowing who you work for is an important step in survival.  
"You're point?"  
Does he really have to point it out? "Did one heck of a job."  
The city's destroyed and there's a vigilante turned killer on the loose.  
"My father, and everyone else, would never let this happen..." Father's are a disappointment waiting to happen. "Unless they were all dead."  
Sara's rising concern and growing depression hits a chord. Snart felt better when his own old man left this world, but not everyone had crap dads like him. He won't apologize for it, but he keeps his thoughts to himself for the next few blocks.

 

"Palmer Tech's just two blocks up this way. Or at least it used to be."  
Something explodes and there's yelling from oncoming attackers.  
"Take cover in there!" Rip directs them to an abandoned bus. It's not an ideal hiding place, but Snart follows Sara's lead into the vehicle anyway.  
There's chaos as people come flooding out of nowhere to fight each other.  
"Like World War 3 out there." Snart moves passed the assassin to duck behind another seat. Mick crouches near him, buzzing with excitement.  
"It's beautiful!"  
The Hood shows up and starts shooting at both parties as they continue to shout and try to kill themselves. Sara looks back to them, then returns her attention to the fight.  
She's wants to join the Hood. She's still wildly curious about what has happened to her city and who is pretending to be one of her hero friends. Snart can't say he wouldn't feel the same if this was Central and there was another Flash.   
"We need to find another route." Rip remarks, but there's so much going on outside that thoughts of escape are a pipe dream at the moment.  
The Hood leaps away from an explosion, shooting two arrows and hitting his mark with both. One of the fighters is pushed up against the glass and it shatters in between Snart and Mick.  
"Oh!" Mick laughs, eyes dancing as he watches the two men beat against one another.  
Rip turns to them, probably worried someone was trying to get inside, and another body hits the hood of the bus.  
Speaking of hoods, the Arrow jumps back up to the higher spot on his perch and shoots off one more arrow before he gets hit himself. The Hood falls, losing his balance and landing on the ground below.

Sara is up and moving. Snart knows exactly what she's going to do before Rip can even try to stop her.  
"Miss Lance, don't! SARA!"  
There's no use. The assassin is going to go no matter how much Rip shouts at her.  
"You two, don't move, we'll be right back!"  
Rip has a father complex. Bad choice, considering Snart hates his father.  
"Right!" Mick shouts as the man leaves. He has no intention of listening either.  
"We're not gonna sit here, right? Imagine all the looting we can do in this chaos."  
If they're going to be stranded in a Time Line that might not even 'stick,' they might as well get some souvenirs. There were empty boxes to fill in the cargo bay after all.  
"How bout we stretch our legs to that bank we passed three block back?" Snart moves out of the bus. The fighting has died down, no sign of Sara, Rip, or the Hood. 

An engine revs and there are suddenly dirt bikes in their way and men surrounding them. Looks like they're getting involved in the fight as well.  
"Drop your weapons! And hand over your wallets!" A twitchy Bond man orders them, gun moving back and forth from Mick to Snart.  
"Wait, are you actually trying to mug us?" Poor man has no idea who he's talking to. The future has no respect for their past criminals.  
"What is this? Amateur hour?"  
Mick is eager to get into a fight, but he's as surprised as Snart at the man's lack of style when it comes to stealing. The whole city is falling apart and you take the time to stop two men for petty robbery?  
"You don't do what my man says, we're gonna crush you into the pavement like a couple a ants." Bond guy in the coat thinks he's the greatest thing since the gold rush.  
"Really?"  
Mick and him will have to shove him off his high horse.  
"What do you say we teach these fellas a lesson?" This might not be their Time Line, let alone their city, but no one disrespects them. No one.  
"Yeah."  
Snart keeps a cold glare directed at the leader while Twitchy takes the coat off. Mick laughs. It un-nerves the big bad leader and he lands a weak punch to Snart.  
The group cheers for their leader and it boosts the man's ego.  
"Oh, that's what you get when you don't follow directions."  
Snart could ice him, right there where he stands like it's nothing, but Mick's angry and just forcing himself to wait for his turn. Snart will oblige his partner.  
"Interesting." Mick is stepping back and forth in small steps to hold back his mounting excitement. "Hold this."  
Snart takes the Heat Gun and the second Mick lets go he lands a hard right to the leader's head.   
But the man merely smiles back at them while his group laughs and Mick's ready to change it up a bit.  
"On second thought." Mick takes his gun back and blasts the leader away.   
That changes the tone to their would-be muggers.  
"Where'd you get that?"  
"Ebay."  
It's just like prison with this gang. The biggest, baddest guy gets to be the leader and call all the shots. They're all looking at Mick, waiting to be told what to do like sheep.  
"Now, your boss will not be needing this." Mick shoves one arm in and Twitchy helps him get the coat on.   
So much for the job. Instead of showing these punks off and making their way to get the tech piece for the ship, Mick is going to get sucked into being the new boss.  
"Well this has been fun, but I think it's time to leave." They can still make it to the bank for a reward before Rip is complaining in their ear again.   
"Leave? Why would we leave?" Too late, Mick has already fitted the crown to his own head. Snart will have to let his partner have some fun first if he wants to get the man back on point.   
"Come on sweetheart!" Mick tells one of the female members. She's UnBonded and eager to impress their new boss.  
Snart resigns himself to babysitting the man for the time being. Maybe this group's home base will have something interesting to snatch while they wait for Rip to chase Sara throughout the city.  
Snart takes one of the motorbikes from a Broken-Bond gang memeber. He's not footing it after Mick.   
His partner guns the four-wheeler's engine and drives off. Hopefully the woman clinging to his back will give him directions to their home base.  
Snart doesn't feel like getting lost on top of everything else.

They drive to a building and the group doesn't waste time pumping up the music and bring out out the alcohol. Mick gets his hands on a chalice and has three full glasses before Snart can roll his eyes.  
There are too many people around. Their Bonds are swarming around him and beating his brain in time with the music. At least no one has tries to touch him.  
Then his partner's on top of a table handing out names like free money and Snart's had enough fun for one day.  
"Your highness, can I get a moment of your time, please?"   
"Sure!" Mick manages to get his feet back on the ground without falling. "Ah! Isn't the future great?"  
"We really should be getting back to Rip and Sara." Rip probably has himself hiding behind a wall while the assasin is fighting through another army of men.  
"Why?"  
Mick isn't going to make this easy for him.  
"Cause I'm not looking to put down roots," Snart spares the room a glance. "here."  
He already has roots back in Central City. This is just a bus stop to saving his future.   
"Why not? It's everything we've ever wanted." It's everything you've ever wanted, sure, but not Snart. "I've got a gang that does every thing I tell them to. I got a fur coat! I got a chalice. Speaking of."  
Twitchy fills the cup again. Even in his semi-drunken stupor, maybe Snart can make the man see reason.   
"What about stopping Savage?" What about saving Lisa and their City? Their real home, not this messed up version of a possible future that might not even really exist?  
"What about it? You're the one who said we're in this for the score, remember?" Right, the problem with tricking people is they tend to believe your lies.   
"We can live like kings here." On crumbly thrones of chaos.   
"No cops. No heroes." No challenge.   
"Just some fool in a green hoodie. It's Christmas every day!" The UnBonded girl from before cuddles up to Mick. "Ah, sweet."  
Mick pushes passed him and Snart heaves a sigh. This is going to be harder than he thought. 

 

The gang keeps partying, making out in dark corners and drinking. Mick strides through the room when he isn't cuddling with the UnBonded girl or drinking from his chalice. Once Mick gest drunk enough, maybe he can drag the man back to the ship...  
Snart finds a table off to the side where he can focus on blocking them. 

There's a crash, drawing his attention to another swarm of Bonds joining the party. Snart's gut tells him they aren't part of the gang. Their drawn weapons confirm it.  
"Who invited them?" Mick asks as the music cuts off.  
"Word on the street is Deathstroke is ticked off about something."   
"Deathstroke? What kind of name is that?"  
Not the kind of name you want to mess with if Snart's catching the fear and tension in the room correctly. An UnBonded man holding a mask walks through the newcomers.  
"Party's over. Everyone hit the streets. Hit everybody on 'em! I want Green Arrow dead by morning!"  
So Sara managed to help the Hood out even with Rip's incompetence slowing her down. At least they were safe then.  
"Listen, pal." Mick doesn't take too kindly to people in his new kingdom. "This is my gang. The only orders they take are from me."  
"Hmm, might be your gang, but it's my city." Mick's growling tone and attempt at intimidation doesn't even make the other man blink. "Green Arrow is running with a female assassin in white and a Brit in a brown coat. Kill 'em all."  
Snart's head moves at the mention of Rip and Sara. Correction, they were safe.   
Deathstroke tilts his head to challenge Mick to stop him from ordering around his new crew. When his partner doesn't make a move or comment, the new guy grins, poking at Mick before turning to leave.  
"Heard that man, let's GO!"   
Twitchy riles everyone up and out of the building. It's a relief on Snart's mind to have their Bonds finally vacate the building. 

Snart moves to stand next to his partner. Maybe now they can finally leave.  
"Looks like your new minions are about to go on a city-wide manhunt for Rip and Sara." They still have to get the chunk of tech they need to fix the ship on top of now having to rescue two members of their crew.  
"So what?"   
Mick is feeling defeated after having 'his people' chose the masked man over him.  
"They're gonna kill our friends." Well, Sara is more of a potential Rogue, while Rip is only necessary to get back home.  
"Since when did they become our friends?"  
"You tell me, you and Raymond seemed to get pretty tight back in Russia."  
You wouldn't let me leave him behind. There must be some sort of reason for that.  
"I've never been tight with anyone."  
That hurt. Even Snart's Infinite-Bond cringes at the words.  
"Mick!" This is getting ridiculous. "It's time to go."  
Snart starts to stride out of the room, expecting his partner to follow after him like he always does.  
"You're not the boss of me!" Mick charges his gun.  
"Actually, I am." Snart turns back to Mick, tries reaching him through their Bond to get him to calm down and see things his way.  
Mick's eye twitches, but he doesn't remove his hand from the gun.  
The fact that the Infinite-Bond is proving to be useless twice in so many days is beyond irritating. Maybe he needs to have a long hand shake with the man to make their Bond stronger. But there's no time for that now.   
Time to try something else.

"Okay, let's both take a deep breath." Snart follows his own suggestion. "And we'll make ourselves a deal."  
Mick doesn't make any objections, so Snart continues.  
"You help me get to Rip and Sara. Once they're safe, we can have this conversation. Fair?"  
Mick keeps staring at him and Snart honestly wonders if he'll have to fight his own partner to save one person he doesn't hate and another he can't stand.  
Then Mick powers down his gun and, with a frustrated growl, passes behind Snart and out the door.

 

They take the four-wheeler and bike back to where Sara was directing them to one of the Smoak buildings. Rip will probably be there trying to salvage this simple mission.  
Snart catches sight of some of Deathstroke's men sneaking in and he and Mick drive through the building until they find Sara, Rip and the Hood fighting one too many guys amidst all the tech toys.  
Mick and him shoot at the same time, blasting away two men before they're fully off their vehicles.  
"Gentlemen, you're timing is exemplary."  
Rip ducks as Snart's weapon shoots over him, followed by Micks.  
Their enemies are down or gone, but Sara spikes in worry.  
"Where's Connor?"   
Snart doesn't know who she's talking about at first, but he figures it out when he can't sense the UnBonded Hood anywhere.  
They're all drawn to the abandoned bow lying on the floor.  
"He's been taken."

Sara kneels next to one of the dead men in the room.   
"These are Grant Wilson's men."   
"Mm, the guy with the half face and the body armor has it out for the kid in the hoodie."   
Mick keeps poking at the sleeve of his coat. He doesn't want to stay here. He wants to go back out and try to get his 'gang' back together.   
Rip tosses the bow away and it clangs loudly in large room.  
"Can I have a word?"   
Sara's going to want to go after the Hood and Rip is going to try to stop her. It didn't work out last time, but the captain is apparently going to try regardless.

"Now that we rescued them, let's have that chat."  
Snart has been thinking about all the possibilities of how that would go on the ride over there. He had a few ideas on what to do depending on whether or not he could get Mick to see reason.   
"You want to stay here."   
"Thought I made that pretty clear. What I'm less clear on is, why you don't."  
After all their years working together, Mick didn't really know him that well.  
"A city of thieves and criminals."   
Mick makes it sound like a good thing. Snart knows better.   
"Sounds like a lotta competition."  
"Then we wipe 'em out. What I did to that other guy, we do the same thing to Grant Wilson and anyone else stupid enough to get in our way."  
Mick's too wrapped up in 2046 to let it go willingly. Snart's not about to leave his partner behind in a Time Line that might not exist later. He heaves a sigh.  
"Take a look around Snart. Livin the dream."  
This is really going to put a damper on their partnership.  
"Yeah, speaking of which." Snart's arms whip out, using the Cold Gun to knock Mick unconscious. "Sleep tight, buddy."

Rip and Sara return from their little pow-wow, box with whatever tech they need in Rip's hand. They're both alarmed at the sight of Mick on the ground.  
"What happened to him?"  
"Difference of opinion."  
"Ri-ight." Rip doesn't really care. He's probably pretending to for Sara's sake.   
"We need to get this," Rip lifts the case in his hands. "and Mr. Rory back to the Waverider."  
Sara sends him another worried look before following after Rip.   
They take the bike so Snart can bring Mick along on the four-wheeler.

 

When they get back to the ship, Rip and Sara lend a hand carrying Mick's into a holding cell. Sara discreetly asked why they weren't putting him into his room, but Snart glared at her in reply.

With Mick safely tucked away, they go to the bridge where Stein greets them.  
"Where's Mr. Rory?"   
The professor is worried for his partner and to think, Mick said they weren't friends.  
"Sleeping it off." Snart's Bond is twisting in his gut and he's tired just thinking about confronting his partner later.   
Rip babbles on about their prize as he asks about the engine.   
"It's all good."  
Jax's confidence is all Snart needs to finish his journey through the bridge and to his room.

He doesn't make it there. Gideon tells him Mick has already woken up and demanding to see him. Snart heaves a deep breath, wishing the man had stayed out a few minutes more.   
He changes course and heads back to where he left his partner.

 

"Hello, Mick." Snart sighs the greeting, feeling the hatred aimed at him from his partner. The next few days will be 'fun.'  
"You son of a-" Mick's temper is already growing.  
"Just calm down." Snart tries tiredly.   
"You lied to me!" Mick growls attacking the force field with open arms, not realizing it was there.  
"Wouldn't be the first time." And it probably won't be the last. "Remember the Del Ray currency exchange? The black hawk armored car job? If I hadn't lied to you on those scores we'd both be in prison. Or dead."  
Because the hot-head couldn't think as clearly as Snart could. Didn't know when drop and run or roll with the punches. That's what their partnership was for. So Snart could know those things for him and Mick could just follow through with his plans.  
"I'm the brains. You're the muscle. That's how it's always been. And on occasion I've had to call some audibles."  
Little white lies that made it easier to get away with the score.  
"You have a habit of getting in your own way, Mick."  
"Hm, you're right, you've lied to me about jobs before."  
He'd think he was making progress if it wasn't for the still simmering anger he was getting from his partner.  
"But then again, you lied to be about this being a job."  
Dread sits like a lead weight in Snart's stomach. Mick wasn't as 'thick' as people thought.  
"It's not about the score anymore for you."  
Anger, betrayal, confusion, more anger, betrayal again... Mick's emotions kept changing as he continued to talk.  
"You'd rather, save the world than be my partner. A real team player."  
"Because that's what it's gonna take to defeat Savage."  
Because he won't allow a madman to destroy his world if he has the power to stop him. Even if he has to suffer through rolling emotions and oppressive Bonds.  
"Then what? More money? More power? A life of leisure and sin?"  
A life beyond the next job?  
"Don't you get it, Mick?" Snart waves his hand over the censor to open the door, Mick's eyes shoot over to it, but Snart grabs his attention back.  
"If we take out Savage, this immortal monster, can't you see what that gets us?"  
Mick isn't interested but he still says, "No, tell me."  
"We will be the two baddest men of all time."  
Someone to look up to and respect! Somebody important! Not the nothings our parents thought we were!  
"I don't want a ticket tape parade. You know what I want from this world."  
Snart's shoulders relax, defeated. He did know. Knew it from their first meeting and was reminded of it constantly.  
"Yes." He whispers, feeling Mick close himself off from him at their Bond. "To see it burn."  
"You lay a hand on me again. You'll burn too."  
Mick gets out of the room, not even bothering to grab his fur coat on the way.  
Snart turns his head but doesn't follow.   
There's nothing more he can do today.

 

Sara has gone off to try to save the Hood. Stein's the one who rallies the troops and he's somehow managed to convince Rip to throw his lot in too.  
Mick decides to join in on the rescue mission, but only so he can shoot his gun or hit someone. He doesn't care about the assassin or anything else at the moment.  
Snart just hopes he doesn't try to make a run for it in order to stay.

Raymond and Kendra fly ahead and they all arrive in time to join in the battle that's already going on without them.  
"How'd you convince Rip to stay?"   
So the captain was going to abandon another crew member again? That man...  
"Actually, sending in the cavalry was his idea."  
Snart shoots at a man to his left. Raymond's trying to boost Sara's admiration for the man and Snart isn't going to waste time correcting him.  
He shoots another guy to his left then rams his gun into a man at his right, before straightening to hit another further away.  
"Where's Mr. Queen?"  
There are two Hoods now, but the one fighting Deathstroke is Broken-Bonded so that must be Queen.  
"Connor!"  
Queen throws his bow to the other Hood fighting on the ground. Doesn't seem like a very good plan since he's still dancing with his attacker.   
Snart bashes another enemy in the face with his gun.  
Connor shoots a special arrow at Deathstroke and Queen finally gets the upper hand.   
Deathstroke's dead. What's left of the henchmen make a run for it. 

"Cowards! All!" Mick shouts at them as they run.   
His partner turns and heads back to the ship, glaring at Snart as he passes him.  
Snart lets him go. He doubts his partner will try to stay, but even if he does it might be easier to handle the complete loss of their Bond over the hatred Mick is aiming at him.  
"Oliver?"  
"It's good to see you again, Ray. Kendra." Queen's lookin a little old and tired for hero work. "Thanks for the assist."  
"So, who's that?"  
"His name is Grant Wilson. Once upon a time, his father, Slade, tried to ruin my life."  
"That is not a nice family."  
Even Mr. Sunshine couldn't put a positive spin to Queen's speech.  
"That's good shooting, John."  
The UnBonded Hood shakes his head, slightly aggravated at the name. He returns to bow to the still panting hero.  
"It's Connor."  
"Either way. It's Green Arrow."  
Watching the two Hoods be all happy-go-lucky with each other makes Snart sick. He gives them all of 8 seconds before he turns to head for the ship.   
He needs to find out if Mick made it back or not.

 

"Alright Gideon, let's see if these repairs that Martin, Ray, and Jax made are up to scratch."  
"As far as I can tell, Miss Saunders did most of the work while the two gentlemen competed for her-"  
"Just get us out of here, please, Gideon."   
So that's why the kid was all angsty. Such a small ship, didn't those two know better than to start flirting with either of the two women on board?  
Wait, this is Raymond, of course they weren't thinking.  
Snart sits in his chair, pulling down the harness, and just waits.

Raymond goes over to where Mick is still watching the city through the window.  
His partner might not feel anything toward the scientist, but Bright Eyes sure thought they were friends.

Snart isn't surprised when Mick sits in the open chair furthest away from him.  
"So, where to next, Captain?"  
"Well the beauty of this mission is that the real question is not 'where' but 'when.'"  
This entire crew was going to start spouting time puns before they finish saving the world.  
"In which case, I suggest we next hit Savage when he least expects it."

 

-


	7. "Marooned" (Ep. 7)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the part of the story where I make all of the readers hate me with a burning passion that rival's Mick's own anger.

/*"Bonds don't all end in 'Happily Ever Afters.' Bonds end in heartache or disaster just as often as they do in true love and happiness. We use Bonds to protect ourselves from the outside world. But the world is still there."*/

 

So, when Rip was acting all 'I know exactly what I'm doing' and confidently said, "In which case, I suggest we next hit Savage when he least expects it."  
What he meant was, "I have no idea where my enemy is, so let's all just hang out on the Waverider for a while and twiddle our thumbs, yes?"  
At least Sara was willing to play cards with Snart.

Mick wasn't handling the week long lack of violence well. His partner had resorted to throwing knives at his storage container. The wall he had put up between himself and Snart made it impossible for him to try to calm him and he wasn't talking to him still, so that way was out as well.  
At least Mick had stopped trying to set things on fire.  
"I'm done!" Mick announces, like he had any choice in the matter of their current situation. He couldn't control this ship and it wasn't like his partner could walk out the door. Hopefully, Mick knew that.  
"Don't mind him." Snart turns his head towards Mick to make sure his partner isn't aiming the knife at his head. "He's still sore about having to leave 2046."  
Snart returns his attention to his hand. Mick doesn't look like he's going to use him as a target, so he might as well focus on winning this round against Sara.  
"I'm sore," Mick is quite angry, actually. "because I was recruited for my unique ability to light things on fire. And now!" His arms go wide with his frustration. "I'm locked in the one place where I can't light things on fire." Which took some convincing and threats of taking his gun away. "A space ship!"  
Mick walks over Snart's legs, narrowly missing stepping on him in his hurry to leave.  
"Where are you going?" Snart asks him, because even though his partner's still boiling mad at him, Snart's still the only one who can talk reason to the man if he plans on killing Rip.  
"Why?" Mick turns his anger full force to Snart. "You gonna clock me in the head if I don't listen again?"  
The barb does exactly what he wants it to. Snart's starting to regret what he did, but the fact that he knows he was right prevents the feeling from bothering him too much. It's going to take longer for Mick to get over this latest fight than Snart anticipated.  
Mick goes the rest of the way up the stairs.  
"Everything okay with you two?" Sara asks, turning her eyes away when Snart looks at her. The assassin's genuinely worried. But was she worried that Mick was eventually going to take his anger out on him with fists, or that his partner was going to take it out on the other crew members?  
"Yeah," Snart decides to try dissuading her fears, even though he lacks the confidence to project it with his Bond. "peachy."  
Snart wins that hand, making the tally Sara: 218, Snart: 176.  
It was a pleasant surprise to discover the assassin was so good at cards.

 

Rip calls everyone to the bridge to talk about another Time Idiot who's apparently sent a distress signal. The mayday maiden's ship apparently has something they need to go after Savage.  
Stein gets excited over 'deep space' travel and other such science-based details but the kid is feeling exactly what Snart is. "What's astonishing is that we're acting as road side assistance for the people who's chasing us."  
"Doesn't it seem suspicious? This distress call just happened to reach us?" Of all the times and all the ships in space? Come on, way too convenient.  
"How do we know it's not a trap?"  
It is a trap, Kendra. But Captain Foolhardy doesn't care because he's too distraught, angry and depressed to think clearly.  
"We don't but what we do know is that Savage's trail has run cold and unless Gideon can upload the data from the Akeron's computer-"  
"I'm in." Mick interrupts Rip's 'perfectly good' reason to risk all their lives.  
"You are?" Snart's surprised, but his partner is bored and itching to do something. Anything. Even walking headlong into an obvious trap. As long as it gets him off the Waverider.  
"The sooner we end Savage, the sooner I get back to where I belong."  
And maybe away from Snart.  
"Prison?" Stein offers his suggestion, unaware of what's really going on in Mick's head.  
"Any prison on earth's better than this one, professor."  
That's all Rip needs. Their 'leader' claps his hands and orders the AI to get ready to go to the source of the distress call. Everyone else moves to their seats to get ready for the move and Snart can feel the kid's lack of enthusiasm that mirrors his own.  
Snart sits next to an empty chair as they go 'full throttle' to the next fiasco.

 

The Waverider slows, then comes to a space-floating stop in front of the other Time Ship. The harnesses release as everyone looks out the front window to the lage object outside.  
Rip invites Stein and Jax to join the boarding party and the professor is all too eager to go.  
"Let's get this thing started."  
When Mick moves to go to the Jump Ship, Snart intercepts him.  
"Hey," He tries for a casual tone, as if his partner wasn't laboring harsh feeling towards him. "You think there's something worth stealing on that ship?"  
"I'm just looking for a change of scenery." Mick tells him.  
Which means, either he doesn't want to see Snart's face for a while, or he's looking to sign up with another ship. It's probably the former, but these days Snart couldn't be too sure about his partner.  
"If that's okay with you, boss."  
The title Snart usually enjoyed felt more like a stab wound. He idly wonders how many things his partner will have to set ablaze before he calmed down enough to move passed this.  
To add insult to injury, Rip leaves the ship in Raymond's hands. He then turns to Kendra and says he leaves Mr. Perfect in hers, and Snart sighs inwardly.  
A budding romance trapped inside a tin can through time and space.  
How awful.

 

Snart has to suffer through Mr. Perfect and Birdie flirting with each other while the scientist pretended he was the greatest captain to ever sit his butt in a chair.  
He thinks he might actually throw up.  
"Uoghf," He averts his eyes from the glee radiating off of Raymond. "Mick had it wrong. This ship isn't a prison. It's a torture chamber."  
"Well, I don't think Mick's problem is with the ship."  
"You think it's with me." Snart thinks Sara was might possibly be better at reading people than she is at killing them.  
"You did knock him out and force him to leave 2046 Star City." Sara points out, as if Snart didn't know what he did. "Which is like," The assassin searches for the right word. "Disneyland for felons."  
"He'll get over it." Eventually, and probably with flaming violence. But he will. "Mick runs hot, he always has. Once he calms down, everything will be back to normal."  
"Yeah, I bet that one sounded more convincing in your head."  
Snart levels Sara with a glare. Her perceptiveness is starting to get on his nerves.  
He like her, but not that much.

"I'd like to speak to acting Captain, Raymond Palmer." A new voice says over the table computer. Here we go. What went wrong now?  
Raymond bounces happily over to the screen to greet the newcomer, completely oblivious to the obvious danger the others must be in if they weren't the ones hailing them. Snart walks over to the screen with Sara.  
"Who are you?" Raymond asks the stranger.  
"I'm the man holding your crew hostage."  
That's when reality seems to sink in for Mr. Perfect. The other's tense as well, wondering what this stranger will demand to get the others back.  
Rip tries to secretly order Raymond to be a blood thirsty, heartless person who won't negotiate, but if he wanted that he shouldn't have picked the naïve scientist.  
The newcomer shoves Rip's face against the screen. His demands are for them to surrender the ship to them and in exchange they'll be dropped off where and when they want. "You've got ten seconds to decide."  
"Or else what? If you want the Waverider for yourself, there's no way you'll fire on us." It was a good try on the scientist's part, but the guy on the other side of the screen has a backup plan for it.  
"Right now, I've got my sights set on your captain's head."  
"Wa-wa-wa-wait, okay?" Raymond raises his hands, trying to calm the other man. "Just, give me a chance to negotiate."  
"10." The man on the other side of the screen starts his countdown.  
"9."  
"Maybe he's bluffing." Raymond hopes.  
"8."  
"Doesn't feel like it." They need Rip alive to navigate the Waverider. Even Snart's not sure what the best play is.  
"7."  
"You don't know Palmer." Rip opens his mouth to try and intimidate their enemy again. "And how he survived the Emperiax onslaught."  
An alarm goes off. Or maybe not. Rip's activated some sort of fail safe to force their hands. Gideon's vague about what kind though.  
"What does that mean in English?" Snart demands to know.  
"Strap yourselves in. We are on the move and preparing to fire."  
Snart slides back to his seat and pulls down his harness, the other doing the same.

Gideon starts firing on their enemies, who are apparently Time Pirates.  
Because, of course there are such a thing as Time Pirates!  
"What are you doing Gideon?" Snart doesn't think angering a dangerous group of men who are holding four of their crew members hostage is the best of plans.  
It's Rip's plan, so it's bound to fail miserably.  
"Just a warning shot to let them know we mean business." The AI sounds far too pleased to be shooting at the pirates.  
"My partner's on that ship!" If Mick dies, Snart will never make amends. Maybe this whole thing was a mistake. Maybe his partner was right. Maybe they didn't belong here.  
Gideon seems to understand, because the AI finally stops shooting and pulls back and away from the enemy ship.  
Then the pirates hit them and, "There's a hull breach in the aft potion of the ship."  
"And the pirates have taken out the telemetry controls."  
Whatever that means. But sparks and smoke flying out of the tin can's walls and ceiling is an obvious bad sign.  
"Gideon, switch to manual." Raymond gets out of his harness, determination moving him to sit in the Captain's chair. Kendra isn't too happy that the scientist has found a sudden gusto for space battles.  
Sara gets out of her chair too. She's going to go fix the damaged hull and Snart's not about to let her go alone.  
Snart tells Kendra to, "Make sure Picard here doesn't get us all killed."  
"Actually, I'm more like Sulu right now!" The scientist gleefully shouts out. "Or Han Solo!"  
The scientist's constant need to put a peppy attitude on everything was exactly why Snart could never respect him.  
Raymond didn't take things seriously, so how was Snart supposed to take him seriously?

 

Snart grabs his Cold Gun. He and Sara search for the hole and Gideon directly them to the right room.  
"Here." Snart feels the chill of space and sees what looks like smoke billowing in and out of the hole. He charges the gun and fires, making an icy patch as best he can.  
It's working, sort of, but Snart's gun can't keep this up forever.  
"How long can you keep that up for?"  
Why was Sara still here with him? She wasn't doing anything, couldn't do anything, so why was she staying?  
"Not long. Gonna run out of charge." The Cold Gun stops at that exact second.  
Timing.  
"Be advised, the breach is only partially contained." Gideon tells them as they're trapped in the room.  
"Guess we know the bulkhead doors are working." Why didn't the AI keep them open long enough for them to get out? Did she want them to die?  
"Too bad we're on the wrong side of them." 

"You shouldn't have stayed with me." Snart tells her, glaring at her surprised look. "There was no need for you to have been in here."  
"Well, I did." Sara defends with an equally hard tone. "So you best get over it and move on."

 

They have Gideon call for Raymond and Kendra. Maybe they can override the door long enough for them to get out. It feels like they're in an industrial freezer.  
"Thanks for stopping by." Sara greets when they arrive.  
"We're gonna get you outta here, just," Raymond pauses for something to say. "hang tight."  
"Is there another option?" Sara's sarcasm is a clear defensive measure to her growing fear of freezing to death.  
"Don't mean to rush you, Raymond," That's a lie, he means to rush the scientist as much as he can. "But it's getting cold in here. Normally, I wouldn't mind but-"  
"Can't you just open the doors, Gideon?" Kendra stops Snart from continuing. Pity, he had a really snarky thing to say.  
"The bulkhead is designed to remained shut until the breach is sealed."  
That's a design flaw. How can you fix something in a room you can't get into?  
"Well that's not happening from in here!" Snart's gun is out of charge and there's no way for him to re-charge it. Plus, there aren't any sort of tools in the room to make any sort of attempt to fix the hole either.  
"How much time until-" Kendra starts to ask, but stops herself.  
Sara helpfully does it for her: "We're dead?"  
The two budding lovers look through the glass worriedly and Snart sighs.  
It figures this was how he would go. Captain Cold freezes to death.  
The world would die in laughter.

 

Raymond and Kendra run off to try and figure something out while Snart and Sara take a seat. The room is slowly getting colder and Snart wishes he had his gloves.  
"I suppose this is like a day at the beach for you." Sara breaks the silence.  
"If I had to pick a way to die, freezing wouldn't be the worst." Snart has seen worse ways to die. Things that make your veins turn to ice and breath catch in your throat.  
"What's it like? Dying?" He might as well prepare himself. "I imagine you've got a unique perspective."  
"It's funny. You'd expect it to be terrifying, just, panic and fear."  
Sara's voice is changing with emotions as she recounts what happened to her.  
"What'chu feel?"  
"I guess lonely." Snart wasn't expecting that answer. "Yeah. Like, everybody I loved was a million miles away."  
Lisa who might be a million years away. Mick who's trying to pull himself as far away from Snart as possible. They might really be dying after all.  
"I mean, I don't like you, but at least I'm not dying alone."  
Harsh, assassin. Well, if they're dying, and since Sara already shared, Snart figures he can return the favor.  
"Closest I ever came to dying was, uh," The memories come flooding to Snart's slowly freezing brain. "the day I met Mick."  
"How does that not surprise me?" Sara's amused, but she's got the wrong idea.  
"It wasn't like that." Most people thought that way, but it wasn't. "It was my first day in Juvie." Tall walls, barbed wire, cold bars. "I was fourteen and smallest kid in there by far. Some of the older kids wanted to make sure I knew it." Snart takes a breath, memories of angry faces and swarming Bonds trying to choke him. "So, they jumped me. I fought back, but, one of them had a shiv." Nothing more than a sharpened toothbrush end, but deadly enough to draw blood. "I figured that was it." The weapon was going towards him, right to his neck where it would kill him. "Until Mick stepped in," A strong arm grabbing a skinnier one. Fiery determination and temper to match glaring down Snart's attackers. "and they didn't mess with me after that."  
Snart remembers the first time Mick took his hand, pulled him to his feet and told him to brush the dirt off. He let his Infinite-Bond reach out to the older teen's Shattered one. His partner was like his shadow after that. "He's been standing up for me ever since."  
"Let's just hope he's standing up for Rip and Jax right now."  
"Who else is going to take on those pirates?" Mick liked the kid and he wants to get back home, so he'll bring this new enemy down.  
The pirates will give his partner something to hit.

 

Sara shakes in a violent shiver and Snart leans forward enough to remove his jacket.  
"What are you doing?" Sara asks, brow furrowed as Snart offers her the coat.  
"You're shirt's made of lighter material than my sweater." Snart tells her, pushing the coat in her face. "Hurry up and put it on before you waste the warmth I gave it."  
The assassin wastes three seconds to decide to give in, snatching the coat and sliding her arms through quickly.  
"Thanks." She mumbles, scrunching up into a ball to try to gather the residual heat.

They sit quietly together for another second before the assassin speaks again.  
"Leonard," Sara says with a shiver, "Why is your Bond so weird?"  
Snart can't stop the bark of laughter. Not many people asked. Most assumed be was UnBonded or Broken-Bonded. Only one other person, besides Lisa, knew about Snart's Infinite-Bond and that certain Speedster was dependable enough to keep the secret.  
The question now was, is an ex-assassin the best person to tell?  
"Hey," Sara nudges him with her shoulder as best she could, her own body vibrating with the cold, "You gonna answer me or what?"  
"What does my Bond feel like, to you?" Snart answers with a question. Best to figure out what she thought she knew before planting lies.  
Sara smirks, "One minute you're UnBonded, the next you're Bonded, then at times you feel Broken," She frowns in concern, "Are the Time Line jumps messing with you or something?"  
Concern floods through him and if he wasn't a human popsicle, he would be warmed by the emotion. The Time Line excuse was a good one to use.  
"Not sure," Snart drawls, "I haven't been feeling my usual chipper self since we started this crusade of ours."  
"What kind of Bond did you have before?" Sara prods, the cold has gotten her especially chatty. Snart wished the chattering of her teeth was strong enough to dissuade conversation. Then again, if Mr. Perfect didn't get them out of there before they froze to death, maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to let the secret out?  
No, it's too soon to drop something that big in this messed-up group. Especially if there was a mediocre chance of them surviving.  
"I was UnBonded," Snart answers. He figures it's the easier lie. No one else in their group was unattached, even the kid had Stein.  
Sara nods as she tries to huddle closer to him, "That's sad."  
"Oh?" Snart raises a numb eyebrow to her soft voice.  
"What if you never get back home and meet him or her?" Sara shrugs slightly, the cold stiffening the movement, "At least I had time with my Bond-Mate before-"  
Sara cuts herself off with another shrug. Everyone was capable of recognizing other's Bonds, so she knows Snart can feel her Broken-Bond.  
Snart's mind replays her words from the rooftop where this all began. Curiosity and a desire to move the conversation as far away from himself as he can makes him open his mouth to ask, "Is your Bond-Mate dead?"  
The usually strong assassin slumps a little next to him. Snart thinks for a minute she isn't going to answer, then her voice speaks out so tiny that he almost misses it, "No."  
"No?" he snorts, "Let me guess, you died but somehow magically came back but didn't Re-Bond with her to protect her or something as nauseatingly honorable?"  
"There's nothing honorable about leaving your Bond-Mate," Sara continues in her tiny voice, though there is a little anger to it now.  
"I'll have to defer to you on that," he drawls, moving his body to prevent his muscles from locking up.

 

The next time they talk, it's Snart who speaks first.  
"Nothing quite like dying to make you think about all the mistakes, all the wrong choices." Snart's mind is making a list of said mistakes and choices.  
"Is this Leonard Snart coming to God in his final moment?" Sara scoffs.  
Snart smiles ruefully.  
"Hardly." He rubs his hands together in an attempt to keep the blood flowing. "Just wish I could take a few things back. Should've left Mick in future Star City." He wasn't doing the right thing for his partner. He was doing the selfish thing for himself. Because he didn't want to be alone on this ship with the others. Because he needed Mick's Bond to remind him of home and the reason he was there to begin with.  
But Mick hated him now and he couldn't even feel his Bond anymore.  
"Why didn't you?"  
Snart's trail of thought stuttered to a stop as his memory cleared to something a litter darker about his partner. Another reason he keeps Mick at his side.  
"Without me to keep him in check," Snart sighs. "Mick can be a scary guy."  
"Agreed." Figures the assassin caught on to that too. "Hate to break it to you, but, even if we make it outta here alive you're still gonna have a problem on your hands." A problem worth solving. Mick was still his partner. "And I've seen enough to know, that Mick's in a dark place. He's not coming back."  
Sara suddenly grabs hold of his arm, inching closer to his body to share what little of their collective warmth they had left. Even as frozen as they are, her Broken-Bond connects with his Infinite-Bond.  
Snart decides to let it.

Minutes tick by...  
Suddenly, Snart goes rigid. His Infinite-Bond is reaching out to Sara, connecting with her and he's not trying to hold it back.  
But she hasn't said anything.  
The assassin hasn't even looked up to Snart like, 'What do you think you're doing?'  
She's just resting against him, shivering as she tries to use him to keep warm.  
Sara didn't feel it.  
Snart's Infinite-Bond, in all it's assumed glory, is one-sided.  
It makes sense now. Why Vostok was so willing to kill him. How easily it was for Mick to put up a wall against him.  
All this time Snart thought he was using his Bond to help ease his way, but it was him all along that was doing it. He should have known. Should have figured since the world dealt him a crap hand, it would give him a crappier Bond.  
An Infinite-Bond wasn't the key to curing loneliness. Those who had it weren't guaranteed to have someone by their side no matter where they were.  
An Infinite-Bond was a doomed sentence of absolute solitude. Where you could look and feel, but not connect. Not really. Not both ways.  
Snart wanted to laugh hysterically, but he lowered his head instead.  
He was going to be alone forever and there was literally nothing he could do about it.

 

"Mr. Palmer has successfully sealed the breach." Gideon informs them, opening the bulkhead doors.  
Snart rises to his feet stiffly, pulling Sara with him as he goes. The assassin groans against the pain and they stumble out of the room to the warmer hallway.  
"Let's never do that again." Sara tries for humor, removing the jacket and handing it back to Snart.  
They can hear distraught voices as they move and they try to run as fast as they can considering the blood still hasn't defrosted in their veins.  
"I thought you were dead." Kendra has Raymond's head in her hands, fear being flooded by relief as she holds him.  
"I think I was there, for a second." Raymond tells her. What was with this crew and dying? It's not a fun pass time. "Thank you."  
Before they can start a kissing session, the rest of the team was still captured after all, Snart takes it upon himself to step in. "You kids need a moment?"  
They both turn their heads to him with shock, releif, and a few other 'uplifting' emotions. Sara joins them, still rubbing her arms. She should've kept his coat longer.  
"You okay?"  
"Mr. Palmer nearly died!" Honestly, it sounded as if the AI was almost HAPPY at the thought. What was wrong with that program?  
"Welcome to the club." Snart tells the scientist. "Gideon! What's happening on the Akeron?"  
"Funny you should ask, I just received a message from Mr. Rory. It seems he escaped capture and is now on his way to the Waverider."  
Good ole Mick.  
"Told ya." Snart says proudly. Worry easing off his chest. "Those pirates picked the wrong guy to mess with."

Snart lets the ladies help Raymond get to his feet.

 

They all walk to greet Snart's partner.  
"Since when does Rory even know how to fly the Jump Ship?"  
"How did he even find us?"  
Those are both good questions, which Gideon answers: "Actually, I did the flying. He received quite the beating at the hands of the pirates."  
Snart wonders how many pirates Mick beat unconscious. He knows his partner can give as good as he got, if not more so.  
But if Mick got into a fight, why didn't he bring the rest of the crew with him on the Jump Ship? How many of these Time Pirates were there?  
There's a mechanical noise to their right and Gideon tells them, "That's him now."  
Snart recognizes Mick's Bond, but he's not alone.  
There are 10 more Bonds beyond that door.  
The door opens and Mick walks through. His partner's face is slightly battered, but not nearly as bad as Snart's seen him get.  
"You okay, Mick?" Snart asks, because his partner's face is unnaturally neutral.  
Mick turns to shout, "Boys! Ship's all yours."  
Ten intruders board the ship, guns drawn and pointed at the four of them.  
Anger and betrayal flow through the people of Snart's side of the hall.  
Raymond curses at Mick, the two's friendship taking an especially harsh hit.  
Mick seems resigned to his choice and Snart briefly wonders if it's all his fault.

"What're you doing, Mick?" Is there some sort of plan in place? Where's the part when you betray the pirates and come back to this team?  
"Getting us home." Mick said 'us' not 'me' so they're still partners after all. "Are you in?"  
Snart steps forward, pulling his gun that's charged once again.  
"Yeah." He turns to look at the others. "Time to choose a side I guess."  
Sara's angry, Kendra's worried, and Raymond's confused.  
Snart turns back to Mick. His partner is practically begging him with his eyes to choose to betray this new team and go with him and the pirates.  
The thing is, he has no loyalties to the Time Pirates.  
"Chosen." Snart lifts the Cold Gun and fires, hitting one of the pirates square in the chest and throwing him into the arms of two of his friends.  
Mick curses at him and shoots back with his Heat Gun, but Snart's already ducking away with the others. "Get them!"

The pirates chase them down the hall while they take cover and fire back. Snart gets two with the Cold Gun, while Sara puts her stick together.  
Raymond gets one then Gideon informs them, "Mr. Rory is making his way to the engine room to access the Time Drive."  
Mick is still playing ball with the pirates.  
"I'll handle it." Snart fires, moving to head to the engine room, but a shot comes out of nowhere and he gets hit. His body flies backwards, hitting the wall and the world goes dark...

"Watcha gonna do, Lenny?" The memory of Lisa's voice rings in his head. "Block out anyone who tries to get close to you? What are you afraid of?"  
"Being betrayed." Snart had answered back.  
He shakes his head, forcing his eyes open and his head to clear. He can feel his Bond with Sara. She's fighting someone, but not here.  
The engine room.  
The assassin was going after his partner.  
Snart breaks into a run.

 

Mick hits Sara with the Heat Gun and the assassin is hiding and his partner is about to get to her.  
Snart shouts, "Mick!" and shoots his partner with his gun, knocking him to the ground. Mick's weapon is out of reach.  
He stands there, gun trained on his partner, his friend, his protector while his chest heaves with indecision and anger.

"Waverider, this is Captain Hunter. We've regained control of the Akeron. What's your status?" Rip's voice calls into the room.  
Mick looks up to him, anger still boiling, "What're ya gonna do, Snart?

Raymond helps Snart get Mick to the brig. The second his partner is secured in his cell, Snart stomps off to his room.  
Rip's on the other ship saying his goodbyes, so he has time to collect his thoughts.  
Mick betrayed them. He sold them out to the pirates.  
There's no way he can trust him with the team. Especially not now that he knows he can't use his Bond to control him.  
Their friendship is in ruins and what Snart has to do next will only tarnish it further.  
But that's why he's the boss.  
Boss's had to make the tough decisions.  
Even if it kills them a little inside.

 

Rip calls the rest of the team together to his study.  
They all file in quietly and stand around the table in tense silence.  
"Okay, I'll say it." Raymond speaks first. "Why don't we just drop him off back in 2016?"  
"Because my sister lives in 2016." At Mick's current mental state, he's likely to go after her. Regardless of their history. Snart turns to Sara, "And your sister." There's no history there at all, so he'll definitely go after her. He turns to Stein. "And your wife."  
"So what exactly are we talkin about here?" Jax pipes up before Snart can continue. "Leaving Rory in the brig until we take down Savage?"  
"Ah, no, no, no." Rip is completely against any thought of Mick staying on the ship. "The brig is unsuitable for long term incarceration."  
Odd how in just a few hours, the Waverider had literally turned into a prison for Mick.  
"Giving him free run of the ship is not an option."  
They were all dancing around the only option they really had. Snart can't listen to it anymore so he tells them, "I'll handle it."  
"By 'handling it' you mean murder." Stein's mightier-than-thou tone is pushing Snart to his limits.  
"I said, I'll handle it." Snart glares at the man. He doesn't need their judgmental stares. They're pitying looks. They're worry or fear or friendship.  
He doesn't need them.  
He just needs to use them to stop the immortal from destroying the world so he can go back home and forget this ever happened.

They all go silent and Snart strides out of the room.

 

Snart has to knock his partner out again in order to get him off the ship.  
Mick's heavy, but Snart manages to drag him away from the Waverider and to the isolated forest.  
He kicks him when they're far enough away and his partner instantly wakes.  
Snart has to step away. Has to put his back to his partner in order to collect enough strength to take the next step.  
"I told you that would be the last time you hit me." Mick growls at him, but Snart pulls his gun and charges it. Stopping any thoughts of attack.  
"You were right." He can't turn to look at Mick. Not yet.  
"That the plan? Take me out to the middle of nowhere? Where no one can find the body?"  
There's so much in those words that it overwhelms Snart. He tries to calm himself, but it's not working.  
"I wish there were some other way, Mick." Snart finally turns to look at his partner. "But you're dangerous. A liability to the team."  
"Team?" Mick says it like a curse. "You and I were a team!"  
If Snart didn't know any better, he'd think Mick was near tears.  
But his partner doesn't cry. He doesn't plead or beg.  
Mick gets angrier. "What happened to you?"  
"People change."  
Even when they don't want to, even when they don't think they need to.  
It happens to them.  
"You think you're some kind of hero. But deep down, you're still the same punk kid I saved in juvie. You haven't got the guts." Mick rises to feet, challenging Snart. "You wanna kill me? Kill me."  
Mick pauses, steeling himself to continue with his threat, "Only one of us is walking outta here alive."  
Snart breaths, a memory of Mick and him in a bar flashing in the back of his mind.  
'You may not think you're a hero, but you're a hero to me.' Where was that Mick? That Mick with the controlled rage and calmer tone?  
The memory flashes back another sentence, 'You're the best guy I ever knew.'  
"KNEW" -not- "KNOW"  
Before this time mission fiasco started, he never would have thought it, but maybe Mick had traveled back in time to talk to him in that bar.  
Maybe after Snart came back to save him, they'd be able to fix their broken partnership and he'd get to meet 'that' version of Mick again.  
Snart let's out a breath. "You're right."  
He fires.

 

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I don't care about any spelling mistakes regarding Rip's "secret code" words.*
> 
> After watching DC Legends Episode 15, my heart died.  
> (It may have affected the story. Sorry about that.)


	8. "Night of the Hawk" (Ep. 8)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is bad. I mean it. I didn't do this as well as I did Chapter 7, so it's really bad.

"Only one of us is walking outta here alive."  
"You're right."

Snart fires the Cold Gun to Mick's left and his partner turns, exactly like he knew he would. He runs, pulling his arm and gun to the side...  
"I knew you lacked the guts."  
..and hits Mick, once again, in the head. Knocking him out cold.  
"I am sorry, Mick." I'm sorry there's nothing I can do to help you control your rage. I'm sorry I got us into this. I'm sorry I have to leave you here in this forest.  
But I'm coming back for you.

Snart breathes heavily, far too heavily for such a short run. He takes a few more seconds to stare at his partner lying unconscious on the ground. Lets the guilt he deserves eat away at him a little more.  
Then he turns, holstering his gun as he walks back to the Waverider.

No one's waiting for Snart at the doorway. It feels like the ship's abandoned as he walks down the hallways to the bridge, his steps echoing off the metal walls.  
The others were willing to allow him to do the dirty work, but they couldn't stomach it. Not even Sara. But maybe that's because she knows the type of darkness that eats at you when you've taken a life. Or maybe she's disappointed in him for being willing to do it. It doesn't really matter.  
His new team doesn't know Mick's still alive. For now, Snart will keep it that way.

He reaches the bridge where everyone's waiting, but they all avert their eyes.  
"Let's go." Rip says, sitting in his chair while the others follow suit.  
Snart sits next to an empty one.  
He doesn't know where, or as the others love to say 'when', they're going.  
He doesn't care. In fact, Snart feels sort of hollow.

 

They Time Jump.   
Snart's hearing is muffled, while the professor and kid complain about their symptoms and Rip babbles something as well.   
He feels nausea through a Bond and for a split second he thinks it's Mick, but his clouded brain reminds him of where he partner is and he realizes it's coming from Sara.  
Snart's hearing clears in time for Rip to tell them they're at, "Harmony Falls, Oregon."  
Apparently the last Time Bumbler's intel says Savage will be here.  
"What's Savage doin in Pleasantville?" Jax squints at the picture projected on the screen. The kid's still under his 'time jaunt' problem of the day.  
The picture changes to a news clipping that headlines: 'Slasher Strikes Again'  
"Murder, apparently."  
The word makes everyone but Rip tense. Hearing it so soon after what they assume Snart did would put them on edge.  
Rip reads about slain and missing citizens.  
"Huh." The kid turns to Snart. "Kinda like Rory."  
When did the Jax gets so close with Mick? It's not like the kid tried to be friends with his fire-crazed partner. He wasn't even around when Mick was throwing knives at storage containers.  
They go on one heist together and the kid considers him his bosom buddy.  
Snart sends him a glare.  
Rip's still talking. "...the killer is an expert with knives."  
"That sounds like Savage's M.O."  
"Yeah, but serial killing isn't." Raymond's adding his two-cent knowledge of criminals into the mix. "Sounds pretty small time for a guy who's had coffee with Hitler."  
Whatever the immortal has planned, it doesn't matter. They have to find him, stop him, and kill him so that Snart can go back to get his partner out of that forest.

 

Rip sends Raymond and Kendra to move in undercover at the first victim's, now available, house.  
Either the man's blind to what's going on between the two, not too far fetched considering his track record for stupidity, or he's secretly rooting for them to be together and is giving them a chance to for some alone time.  
The man better not be trying to play cupid in the middle of this desperate crusade.  
Stein and Sara are going to be sent to the asylum of another victim, while Jax is to 'mingle' with the younger crowd to figure out three disappearances.  
"So Raymond and Kendra are shacking up. Sara's nurse Ratchet and Jax is the new kid in town. Where does that leave me?" Because if Rip thinks for one second Snart's going to sit on the side lines, he's got another thing coming.  
The smirk Rip gives him doesn't fill him with confidence.

Feds. Rip and Snart are going to play cops and robbers with the local police.  
If only Scarlet could see him now.

 

Rip drives the vintage vehicle, insisted on it like a pouting child, and Snart didn't know where the police department was so he let him.  
Walking into "Harmony Fall Sheriff's Dept." was an interesting experience, considering he wasn't going in there to be arrested.  
"We're looking for the Sheriff." Rip hides his British accent with a weak imitation of an American one. He sounded more like a gruffy punk.  
"You found him." The Bonded man at the desk says. "Bud Ellison. How can I help you folks?"  
Snart and Rip lift their fake batches in sync.   
"Special Agent Rip Hunter." Rip continues with that horrid voice. "This is my partner," Snart cringes inwardly at the word. "Leonard."  
"We are here to investigate the serial murders which have plagued this sleepy old town of yours."  
Rip must think himself an actor. He was delving too deep with his cover and trying too hard. He's making the Sheriff nervous.  
"Woah." Ellison rises to his feet, holding the pliers in his hand almost like a weapon. "Now, slow down there buddy. There, there ain't no serial killer anywhere. All we got're some unexplained accidents is all."   
'Accidents' is a word good enough to garner a second look, but paired with the word 'unexplained'? That's an unofficial title for murder.  
"How 'bout you hand over those case files so we can decide for ourselves?" Ellison seems hesitant, so Snart continues. "Or we can come back with a court order," he picks up a pencil, mind reeling with all the ways to hurt a man with such a small thing. "and a really nasty disposition."  
Snart prefers to threaten people with his Cold Gun, not a #2 pencil and an implied threat, but Rip was adamant that he couldn't so he had to make due with what he had.  
"Anything for our friends in the Bureau."   
The Sheriff's ticked off and insulted, but he goes to get the files. Snart could care less about what the man feels.   
"Nice work, partner."   
How DARE Rip say that.  
"You're not my partner." Snart drops the pencil before he stabs the Time Idiot with it. He turns to make sure the lawman is actually getting the files and not calling to check on their credentials.  
"There's only one person I ever trusted on this job. We all knew how that turned out."  
Rip's attempt at being friendly is quelled by Snart's anger. Good.  
He doesn't want anything, doesn't' need anything from these fools.  
He just needs to wrap this up as quickly as he can and get back to Mick.

 

As per the usual negative outcome, there's nothing in the case files that can lead them to Savage.  
But that's okay, because the monster walks right up to the lovers' doorstep.

"Savage doesn't think I recognize him, which means he won't try to kill me. He can't steal my powers before I've found them."  
Kendra is putting up a strong front while her new boyfriend stuffs his face.  
"Don't forget, we have to figure out why he's killing the townsfolk." Said face-stuffer remarks.  
"Are you really eating that?"   
Kendra looks at Raymond like he's eating a bowl of worms.  
"Say what you want about Savage. He makes a great casserole."  
Oh, goodie. If they can't kill him, maybe they can lock him in a kitchen where he can feed the universe instead. It's a good thing the thing wasn't poisoned.  
Or maybe not such a good thing. Snart was still on the fence about it.  
"Yes, well, Mr. Snart and I have been analyzing these forensic files." Rip sounds excited over what they got from the Sheriff, even though it was pointless.  
"Which revealed nothing, except Savage is very good at making people disappear."  
Come on people. Having a positive outlook on things, doesn't mean things were going your way. Properly pilfered papers that lead nowhere were still useless.  
"Something you both have in common." Jax can't seem to let go of what the others were wisely ignoring.  
Kendra level's a disapproving look to the kid. Snart didn't know she cared.  
"Are we just gonna pretend like nothing-none of this happened? That Mick Rory wasn't a part of our team?" The kid's still angry at him for what he thinks he did to Mick. Were the two of them having secret friendship meetings behind Snart's back?  
Even Raymond, who went to prison with his partner, wasn't this upset.  
"If you can just ice your best friend like that, I hate to think what you could do to us."  
Oh, so there's the real truth. Jax isn't really angry at him for killing Mick. No. He's worried about Snart's willingness to kill the rest of the team.  
Smart kid. He should be worried. You let your guard down, you die.  
Better for the kid to figure that out now, than later.  
"Right now we need to stay focused on the mission." Kendra is uncomfortable with Snart and Jax's glare war. Rip is happy to join in on the 'distract the angry people' idea.  
"Savage is going to be busy with this little," The man wiggles his fingers, what is wrong with him? "cocktail party. Whilst you two keep an eye on him, Sara and Martin have the opportunity to find out what he's doing in the secret wing of that asylum."  
Right, the asylum that Savage is head doctor of or some such nonsense. If he's the driving force in that place, there is no doubt there are bad things going on in the 'restricted area.'  
When villains write 'restricted' it's actually a 'come hither' sign for the good guys.

 

The others all have their parts to play in this mission.  
Snart goes to Mick's room.  
He thinks about picking up after his partner, just to test him when he gets back, but changes his mind.   
That would feel too much like he's actually gone.

 

It's late. Jax is taking too long getting back from his date. With this racist little town, the kid could be dying on the side of the road. Not to mention Savage's presence.  
Snart goes to Rip, tells him to track the kid so they can check on him.  
"I'm sure Mr. Jackson is-"  
"Shut up and do it Rip." Snart cuts him off. Won't take no for an answer. He's going with or without the Time Oaf.  
Rip nods. They take the Fed car from earlier.

"Gideon traced Jax's last bio-signature to this location."  
Snart can feel only one Bond in the vehicle as they approach and it's definitely not Jax's. They both crouch down and see the kid's girl bleeding from a neck wound in the front seat of the car.  
"Well it seems you had good reason to be concerned for Mr. Jackson's safety." Rip remarks lamely. Shame pointed towards himself as they look helplessly at the UnBonded girl.  
"Yeah, sucks being right all the time."  
Except for when it counted. Then he was a bigger idiot than Raymond and Rip combined.

 

Carefully, they take the girl back to the Waverider so Gideon can fix her.   
Snart holds her hand while they lay her down and her weak Bond reaches his.   
He's surprised how little it bothers him now. Now that he knows he can feel her Bond without the girl even being aware of his. It's oddly freeing as well as depressing.  
Snart puts his hands back in his pockets.  
Stein appears in the MedBay, bringing worry and fear. "What happened?"  
"I don't know but I'm guessing Jax and Peggy Sue had a pretty lousy first date."  
Snart doesn't even finish his last word before Stein pushes with, "Where is Jefferson?"  
"There was no sign of him in the car."  
Rip's hovering, still angry at himself for letting one of his 'crew' disappear. Especially the youngest member.  
The professor leans in close to the girl.  
"These wounds. Don't appear consistent with a knife."  
"Correct," Gideon chimes in. Still far too peppy for Snart's liking. "I believe these lacerations were made by talons."  
"Tommy." The weak UnBonded girl manages, somehow clinging to consciousness despite her wounds. Snart's impressed with her strength.  
Something clicks in Rip's head. "Tommy Fuller, one of the missing teenagers."  
"Like a bird. A bird monster."  
Great. Because they didn't have enough problems to deal with. No, they just had time traveling immortal killers. NOW, they have literal monsters.  
"Captain," Gideon pipes up again, adding something about the girl having certain minerals in her blood.  
"Miss Seavers, do you remember Tommy coming to contact with a, uhm, meteor of some kind?"  
Meteorite? A little odd to swap star gazing stories, don't you think Rip?  
"A car crash...It was-It's glowing."  
The UnBonded girl really needs to rest. It's a marvel she's still awake. Maybe this 'Tommy' kid was her Bond-Mate. They might not have Bonded yet.  
Whatever she said was enlightening to Stein, not that what the man shared was understandable.  
"Say something that makes sense." Snart might be a more than clever thief, but he's no scientific genius.  
"Seems Mr. Fuller has come into contact with a meteorite with mutagenic properties."  
Rip's acting squirrely and Stein's still not making sense.  
"Try again."  
"Apparently Miss Seaver's boyfriend has been exposed to the same type of meteor that Kendra came into contact with."  
Birdie's powers weren't natural? Go figure. Not such a "goddess" after all. More like a pretty rock mutant.

 

Rip and Stein recount what the girl said to Kendra.  
"Me?"  
"Well you and Carter." Stein adds. "Four thousand years ago. The meteorite which gave you your powers appears to be of the same variety that mutated Tommy Fuller.  
"And I'm guessing it's not curable?"   
That's the "luck" of the Waverider and those who dare become it's crew. Bad news is a blessing and the worst news is a constant.  
"Well, I-uh, suppose i-if the talons which lacerated her left some mutagenic residue I could-" Stein's babbling isn't helping anyone. Why were the hyper intelligent so incapable of simple answers? Snart decides to help the poor old man.  
"Yes or no." See? Simple answer.  
"Perhaps."  
Close enough.  
"Why don't you get to work on that, Martin?"   
Rip sounds tired. Is saving another member of the team such a harrowing experience? Considering this is your mission, you really don't have the right to complain.  
Stien gives Snart a sad and disappointed look before he leaves.  
They think he's the bad guy. He can play that part. He can play it very well.  
"Okay, so if Savage isn't the one doing the killing, what is he doing in town?"   
Sara brings the focus back to the point at hand.  
"Doesn't matter." Raymond says in an overly happy voice. He pulls out and plops the magic dagger on table. Rip's suddenly interested. He's no longer moping near the wall.  
"We can take him down." Kendra tells them proudly. How cute, she's proud of her new boyfriend.  
Raymond managed to steal something without getting caught or killed. From Savage's house of all places. Good for him. Rip picks up the knife as if he needs to feel it to know it's real, then puts it back down.  
"Alright, we need to proceed on two fronts: locate Jefferson and make a full out assault on Savage." Rip's raring to go into battle he can't do a thing to finish.  
"A full on attack only plays to Savage's strengths. If we wanna get him-"  
"We need to target his weaknesses." Rip finishes for the assassin. "And sadly very few come to mind."  
Kendra. Obviously.  
"I can think of one." The Birdie points out. Like they didn't all know. "Me."  
Raymond's suddenly scared and worried.  
"He wants me and he always has. So, if I can get close enough to him, then-"  
"Then he'll kill you."   
Didn't you know what would happen next after you got that dagger Mr. Perfect? Didn't you think passed that step? Or were you so happy with yourself that reality drifted away again?  
"Thank you for the vote of confidence." Kendra says, offended. "But I don't need your protection."  
"There's no reason to go alone." Raymond tries to recover from his over-protective blunder. "We're part of a team for a reason."  
They throw that term around like they really know what it means. Snart doubts that they do.  
"Yes, and the team seems comfortable with me doing this." Sara gives her a shrug, her face reading 'yeah sure.' Rip is looking at Ray to avoid looking at Kendra. "So that makes it about you and me."  
Trouble in paradise? Before they could really become something?  
Probably wouldn't have worked out anyway.  
Kendra takes the dagger and leaves in a huff. Snart turns away.  
Yeah, a team that makes no objection when one of them offers up their lives for a hope at victory. That isn't a team. 

 

Before Sara leaves to talk to Stein, Snart notices something through their Bond. There's something new about the assassin. She's terrified and excited, but bottling it up so well Snart wouldn't know if he wasn't Bonded to her.  
Looks like Kendra and Raymond weren't the only ones playing lovers.  
What else was going on in that asylum?

 

And so begins the next plan. It actually involves the entire team, so maybe Bright Eyes' little speech rallied the troops. Rip goes in as an orderly, Sara's still a nurse, and Raymond as crazy patient. It was fitting and probably a futuristic probability. Kendra goes to talk to Savage...While Stein and Snart takes the entrance through the basement.  
All super villains had creepy basements where they kept their darkest sins.  
Snart enjoys the feel of the Cold Gun, even though his stomach churns with what he was going to do to Mick with it. What he did do to Mick with it.  
Thoughts about his partner make him realize Stein's stressing out about the kid. Their close proximity making it easy to catch.  
"I'm sure the kid is fine." Snart tries to ease the old man's mind.  
"Jefferson and I, as you know, share a psychic connection, but, for some inexplicable reason I can't seem to reach him." Stein sighs.  
That's gotta be tough. Snart misses being able to reach Mick's mind and they were just partners. Not being able to connect with a Bond-Mate must be harder to bear.  
"I've grown so accustomed to our partnership. To suddenly be without him is disquieting."  
What's with all the talk about partners? Snart's heart clenches tightly.   
"I know the feeling." I will go back for you, Mick.

They keep moving, slowly and carefully in case there are any traps or guards.

An alarm buzzes. That isn't good. There are some sort of animal sounds. Not quite growling, and occasionally clicking. And it's coming towards them.  
"Oh boy."  
"Just when you think you've seen everything."  
Right in front of them is an actual monster! The thing jumps in front of them, wings outspread.  
Snart shoots it. It lands, hitting some tall canisters, causing an explosion.  
Another jumps to take its place, Snart hits it mid-flight.  
"Guess those missing kids are no longer missing."  
Another comes around the corner. It's Jax. Even without the mangled Bond, the thing's wearing the kid's clothes.  
Stein curses.  
"It's Jefferson." The professor says. He tries to reason with it. "Jefferson, it's us!"  
The things offers the man an open mouthed growl, then a wide winged screech.  
Snart pushes the professor out of the way, knocking the older man into a chair. He can't let Jax hurt his Bond-Mate. The kid would never forgive himself.  
But Snart's not about the creature the kid is now kill him either. He charges and points the gun.  
"Jax! Don't make me do this."  
The monster gets closer...Maybe he can shoot it in the legs and stop it from moving  
Closer...Should probably just hit it over the head. It worked so many times for Mick.  
Another creature shouts, startling Snart and drawing his attention away.   
When Snart turns back, monster Jax slashes at his left arm and he falls. Snart shoots upwards to a pipe that breaks and steam blows into the monster's face.  
Snart's already moving, grabbing Stein and pulling the professor to safety.

"But Jefferson!" Stein complains.  
"We'll have to come back for him later!" Snart shoots down any ideas about going back for the mutated kid. "We better get back to the others. See what's going with this alarm."

Snart leads the way down the hallways, towards the others.  
Monster Jax slices at him from the left and Snart drops the Cold Gun. He steps away from the crewman-turned-creature with Stein. It 'cries' at them again.  
The thing swipes at him again and misses.  
Snart lifts up a hand, body jerking slightly as he tries to read where the thing will swipe at next. It cries again, then Sara hits it with her stick, knocking it out.  
It's times like these that Snart really, really likes the assassin.  
"It's time to go."  
"Not without Jefferson." Of course not! Snart looks down at the kid. Can barely recognize the other's Bond through whatever side-affects this meteor mineral has done to him. "Or whatever's left of him."

 

Back on the Waverider. Snart's out of his, now ruined, Fed suit and (finally) back into his normal clothes. The arm wound isn't too bad, it's barely bleeding, so he patches it up himself.  
Gideon informs him when Stein's ready to injects the kid with the science concoction.  
He goes to the MedBay.

"Gideon was able to help me devise a gene therapy that will hopefully restore Jefferson and those at the asylum to their former selves." The professor sounds as hopeful as he feels. "If genome bonding occurs, we should know right away."  
Rip poses in the MedBay like some sort of hero. He didn't do anything to help this 'mission' of his, but the man still goes for the theatrics.  
"Course, we never would have the slightest chance of saving him, were it not for you."  
Stein has respect for him now. Where did that come from?  
"Let's not get sentimental. Another minute and things might've gone down very differently."  
No one would be praising him if he was still using his gun for a club to get their teammates to see reason.  
"Despite your bravado, Mr. Snart," Stein irritatingly continues. "The actions that I witnessed last night were nothing short of heroic."  
Snart's been upgraded from cold-blooded murderer to hero? That's a change.  
It feels as though the professor is trying to see through him. The man will needs better glasses for that.  
The monitor behind Snart beeps. He turns, even though he doesn't really understand what he's looking at.  
Monster Jax, growls softly. Snart turns his attention back to see the kid's eyes have returned to normal. His Multi-Bond is growing in strength as well, putting a smile on Stein's face.  
"It's working." Rip tries to bring the floor's attention to himself, but his idiotic voice alone can't tear Stein or Snart's eyes away from Jax's transformation.

Snart waits until the kid is back to looking like himself and definitely not returning to part bird man. The second Gideon gleefully informs them that Jax is 'back to normal,' Snart bows out of the room.  
He can't stand the appreciation and respect Stein keeps sending him.

The next morning, Sara & Jax have people to say goodbye to.   
Raymond and Kendra need to pack up their things. Those two are growing. Snart has a feeling it's going to end in heartbreak.

 

Snart sits by the large front window and just stares, hand holding his arm against the pain. Maybe he should have let Gideon patch him up.  
Jax comes back.  
"Well look who's up and around." See kid? I don't kill everyone I'm around.  
I don't even kill the ones I'm supposed to have killed, but you can't know that.  
The kid makes a nervous noise. This won't be good.   
"Yeah, I guess I owe you an apology."   
Snart turns his head to the kid, but doesn't look up.   
"Grey told me about what happened back at the asylum."   
Why couldn't the old man leaves things be? He's no hero.  
"You had the chance to kill me," Snart looks away again. Doesn't want to hear what's coming out of Jax's mouth. "and you didn't."   
The kid breathes in. "After last night I know enough about being a monster to know that you're not one."  
This is ridiculous. Was this a crew of Time Travelers to save the world? Or a boat of sappy soap opera actors?  
Snart's turned his head back to Jax, "Stop, I'm getting misty eyed."   
He turns back to looking out the window.  
"I just want you to know," A pause, another breath. "About what happened with Rory?" The kid winces, knows it's a bad subject to bring up. "I get it."  
Snart finally looks at the kid. What can he possible 'get'?  
"You were protecting us." Why he ever chose that, Snart still wasn't so sure. "And that doesn't make you a murderer, it makes you a part of this team."   
Not sure that's the right thing to say. Being a part of this particular teams isn't actually a compliment. Though they did manage to pull off that last mission as a team.  
Maybe there was hope for them yet.  
"Jefferson you should be resting." Stein rescues Snart from the horribly mushy feelings Jax is feeding him.   
"Aw, man, I'm-I'm done laying around. I just wanna get outta Mayberry."  
Snart's glad there's something not centered on him to latch onto as Rip arrives.  
"Agreed! We're still waiting on Sara and the two love birds to get back."  
They better not be wasting time doing lovey-dovey garbage in their fake home. Snart'll beat them both over the head and drag their bodies to the ship.  
His hand rests on his gun as if waiting to go through with that plan.  
After all, it worked on his partner, why not his team?  
"It seems they've taken quite a shine to 1958."   
Something hits the ship, shaking them all into ducking. Stein has to grab hold of a chair to stay upright.  
"What on earth?"  
"Gideon?"   
Snart runs over to the table computer. It shows Chronos shooting at them.  
"Not this guy again." How did he know where they would be? Where did he come from? Why wouldn't he just leave?!  
Snart doesn't have the extra time to be battling ridiculous Time Bounty Hunters while trying to kill a psycho immortal. He had to get Mick outta that forest!  
"Captain, Chronos has breached the starboard hatch."  
Well, at least Gideon didn't sound happy about it.  
"How is that possible?"  
"Clearly," Snart pulls his gun & charges it while Rip talks. "he's received some new toys from his Time Master friends since our last encounter."  
Rip moves away from the screen to shout, "GIDEON! SEAL THE BULKHEAD FROM HERE-!"  
The man's orders are cut short when the bounty hunter arrives, hitting him square in the chest and throwing him back. Snart shoots at the intruder, missing him.  
Jax and Stein run for cover near the other door.  
Chronos shoots back, but Snart ducks and returns fire, Rip shoots as well as he moves to stand. The bounty hunter moves back to use the door he entered in as a shield as he continues to fire at them.  
Rip moves, letting off a shot as he goes.  
Snart catches Firestorm's argument as they continue to fight.   
"Grey, come on! Let's do this!"  
"If we merge." Chronos fires. "On the Waverider, it could destroy the entire ship."  
The bounty hunter moves out from behind his spot to fire again, and Rip shoots back.  
"Uhm, are you not paying attention to what Chronos is doing?"  
Snart almost runs right into another shot.  
"Fall back!" Rip orders, shooting at the intruder to cover them as he moves to the other door. "Get to the Jump Ship!"  
Snart follows after Stein and the kid, letting Rip handle the rear.

 

Jax leads the way as they run down the halls to the smaller Time Ship.  
"Hey, come on!"  
"You sure it was a good idea leaving the Terminator on the bridge?" Where all the buttons and controls were? Won't the bounty hunter mess things up there?  
Isn't it, next to the engine room, the worst place to let your enemy be near?  
"Gideon has lock down protocols which-"  
"Have been overridden, Captain." Rip stops. The man said he had new toys. They must have given the bounty hunter something the hack the AI. "Chronos is utilizing superior Time Master technology. I cannot counterman his orders."  
The ships moving. They're flying away. Away from the others.  
Not that it's a big loss leaving Raymond behind, but he still liked Sara and they needed Kendra to kill Savage.

"He's Time Jumping the ship."   
And it's far more uncomfortable standing up than it is in their harnessed chairs.   
Plus, "The ladies will be left in 1958!"  
"What about Ray?" The kid's eyes are bigger than normal. Stein's using him as a support beam to stay standing.  
"Like I said." Snart can't help himself. The scientist deserves it.  
"Let's go!" Rip sort-of runs back where they came from. "We have to stop him."  
Snart pushes off and follows. Rip pretty much rams himself against the opposite wall to move forward. Snart slides and rolls against his side of the hall to get to the door.  
"Gideon," Rip readies his gun. "Open the doors on my mark."  
He turns to the Multi-Bond-Mates. "Get to the Jump Ship and escape."  
"We are not abandoning you." Stein refuses.  
"No, you are obeying a direct order from your captain!"  
For the first time, Snart's glad the duo think of Rip as their leader, because they only hesitate for a second before doing as he says. There's no need for them to risk their lives if there's nothing they can do to take out the bounty hunter.  
Besides, the kid just started to like him again.

Rip looks to Snart, silently asking him if he's ready.  
Snart nods.  
"Now Gideon." Rip charges in with a shout and gets the first shot off. Chronos immediately fires back.  
Snart and Rip take cover behind the seats while the bounty hunter's bullets fly overhead. Rip moves around his spot to fire at their enemy and dodges away again before he can get hit with the green orb projectile. Snart takes his turn, and Rip joins in as he ducks away from the next shot.

"Your right, Snart, down!" the Captain warns. Snart narrowly dodges a hit.   
Another shot buzzes by Rip's head, "Gah!"  
Rip moves again, taking shelter behind the wall of the small planning room as Snart gives him cover fire. Another bullet almost catches the Time Man in the shoulder and he shouts out as the spark's blind him for a second.  
Snart moves again, almost hitting Chronos, but the bounty hunter moves just enough to one side and fire at him twice.  
The bullets hit their mark and Snart feels the pain on the way down as the world is enveloped in darkness.  
His head hits the ground and the last thing he thinks he hears is, "No, Mr. Snart!"

 

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Is it terrible that I don't care about the other "Legends"? To be terribly honest, I skim over their parts unless they're saying something concerning Snart.*


	9. "Left Behind" (Ep. 9)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! I didn't re-read this, so there "MIGHT" be more mistakes than usual... Sorry!
> 
> Still didn't re-read it, but NOW it has the missing piece of whether or not Snart had his Mark...

*/"Hey, Leonard," Mick said, during one of the rare times he used Snart's first name. His partner was lying in a hospital bed after a job had gone terribly wrong and the pyro had almost burned himself alive. "Do you ever think of how life would be like without Bonds?"  
Snart was standing in the shadows, keeping out of sight from the officers guarding his partner's room. The boys in blue just assumed the wounded criminal was hallucinating under heavy painkillers.  
"What if we had the choice of who we wanted to be together with?" Mick continued on. "Instead of destiny, or fate, or whatever the hippies were calling it, messing with us. What if we weren't bound by something that shattered us?"  
Mick closed his eyes without an answer. Snart knew his partner wasn't really expecting one.  
"I don't know, Mick," Snart answered softly as his partner's breathing slowed in sleep. "But it would probably be a better world than this."/*

 

Snart startled awake. His arms weren't cooperating and he looked down at the bulky handcuffs around his wrists. He heard footsteps from behind and turned to see Chronos walking towards him.  
Panicked, Snart pushed against the railing to see if it would give way, while at the same time pulling at the handcuffs in case they were on too loose.  
Neither offered him freedom and Snart pulled back defensively as the bounty hunter passed him in case the other was coming to attack him.  
Chronos merely walked by him as if he wasn't even there.  
Well, that's rude. What the heck did that man want with him?  
"Uh, hello?"  
"A UFO sighting in Hub City in 1960 has created an anomaly." The robotic voice of the bounty hunter told him. Snart thought he felt a familiar Bond and looked around the corner to see if there were other people on board. It looked like it was just him.  
The ship must be messing with him somehow.  
"It looks like your friends survived."  
And the bounty hunter wasn't too happy about that. Snart wonders what he did to the Waverider, because he clearly hadn't stuck around to kill them by hand.  
"And, uh, what would they be doing in 1960?" Last he checked, they were in 1958. Why would they jump forward two years?

Chronos didn't answer. Snart frowned, what was the guy's deal? Doesn't matter when the others were. The point was they were alive, so the mission was still on.  
Snart focused on the bounty hunter's back, reaching out to the man's Bond. He was surprised when he realized it was Shattered.  
'Like Mick.' He frowned at the reminder of his partner. Snart to get out of here so he could get back to the others, finish killing Savage, and get Mick out of that dreary forest. He couldn't let Chronos kill him.

 

The silent treatment was getting to Snart. Might as well figure out what Chronos was planning to do with him, if he's going to manipulate the other into letting him go.  
"So, uh," Snart takes a breath, looks around again for a way to get out of the cuffs. "What's so special about me?" The hunter couldn't possibly know about the Infinite-Bond and Snart doubted the Time Leaders would want him for that. "I mean aside from my sparkling personality." The ship walls were a duplicate to Rip's larger vessel. "Back on the Waverider you could've taken your boy Rip," That feeling of a familiar Bond was still nagging at Snart. Was Chronos hiding someone else in the back of the smaller Time Ship? "but you took me instead. Why?"  
The bounty hunter kept quiet, kept his back turned towards Snart. The man had no criminal etiquette.  
"Hey, if you're gonna kill me, you could at least tell me what's going on." Come on big, bad, and bulky. What's your beef with me?  
Chronos finally turns, if only to his side. "You should have figured it out by now."  
Figured what out? Did the Shattered-Bond hunter have a crush on him or something?  
Chronos reaches up with both hands and removes his helmet.  
When Snart sees Mick's face the world stops.  
His shoulder slips, 'What the heck?'  
"After all," Chronos-no-Mick, Mick walks closer, kneels in front of Snart. "I am supposed to be the dumb one."  
Snart's mouth hags open in response but no words come out. He nods numbly to his partner. What happened? What did he do? What was in that forest? 

What? Why? How?  
That last one was a good question to start with.  
"How?" How are you HERE Mick? Who got you out of that place? Who knew you were even there?  
His partner, or perhaps his ex-partner, doesn't answer. Just keeps staring at him while Snart is choked on the inside by the ANGER bring flooded to him.  
It makes Snart just as furious, "I think I deserve," Snart pulls on the cuffs again, he really wishes he could use his arms. "to know what the heck is going on!"  
"You deserve nothing."  
No? Maybe this guy isn't Mick after all. He didn't know him very well.  
"Says the man who sold," Snart spits. "us out to the pirates!" Betrayed the whole team instead of trusting Snart to get them home.  
"When I dropped you off in that forest, I meant to kill you. That was the plan." Snart tries to shock the other, tries to make him see how lenient he was to him so that he won't kill him in revenge.  
"You should have stuck with the plan and done me a favor."  
Mick is still staring at Snart with those dead, bounty hunter, eyes. His tone is even and controlled. As angry as Mick feels, he isn't trying to set anything on fire.  
Something is definitely off about this version of his partner.

"I may not have trusted you on the ship with the team," Or at home with any of their loved ones. "But I alway, ALWAYS was coming back for you!" The thought helped him fall asleep and woke him up the next day. It kept him from being engulfed in guilt.  
"Seems like one of us lost track of time."  
Mick is still far too calm. This isn't the Mick he knows. This is someone else.  
This version is more like the Mick he met at the bar.  
Which means Snart didn't help his partner learn to control his burning rage.  
What happened to him in that forest?  
"Well how long did you-?"  
"By the time they found me!" Mick shouts over Snart's question, a part of the old Mick finally showing itself. "I'd nearly lost my mind."  
Guilt. Regret. They ate at Snart like a cancer.  
"I was so weak, I was strangling rats," Mick hisses the word. "to survive."  
"When who found you?" Who messed with the Time Line and got in the way of Snart rescuing his partner? Who turned the man in front of him into the bounty hunter Chronos?  
Mick finally turned his glare away, "The Time Masters."  
It figured as much. They were so determined to mess everything up, they would go as far as turning Snart's partner against him.  
Mick rose to his feet and began to walk, "They took me to a place called The Vanishing Point. Time doesn't exist there the way it does on earth." Snart swallowed the lump in his throat, mind reeling with the realization that this whole time they were being hunted, it was his partner all along. "I've spent lifetimes being restored by them. Training by them. Fighting by them. Being reborn."  
Mick makes it sound so lovely, but no one gets renovated upstairs without doing some damage first.  
"And, uh, when exactly did your new friends give you the, uh, lobotomy?"  
The Time Cronies have brainwashed Mick. It's the only thing that makes sense.  
It made Snart sick to his stomach.  
Mick's angry at him again, rushing around the control panel to get closer to him.  
Maybe he's going to hit him after all. Snart musters as much of a defiant look as he can.  
"You think I was hunting you and your friends because the Time Masters made me? They barely had to ask."  
It's hard to breath. There's a weight on Snart's chest and he forces himself to take in air and push it back out.  
Mick wants him dead. Snart thought it was bad enough when his partner hated him.  
Now  
Now what he's feeling from the other man is unbearable.

 

"Look, if you're gonna kill me, just do it already." Snart's desire to survive vanished the second he saw his partner's face. There's no way he can go back and save him from that forest now. Something to do with paradox's and sciency, end-of-the-world nonsense.  
"I'm not gonna kill you."  
You gonna keep me as your slave then, Mick? Beat me to a pulp every day?  
"I'm gonna take a trip back to Central City and visit your baby sister." Pictures of Lisa slide onto the screens of the Time Ship. Snart's heart clenches.  
No. Not Lisa. Why did all of Snart's mistakes come back to take it out on her?  
"The beautiful thing about Time Travel, is I get to kill her more than once."  
It's the perfect plan. The perfect revenge. Hitting your enemy at his weakest point.  
But Mick knows Lisa! They were all part of the Rogues together! They knew each other even before that!  
"I can kill Lisa in front of you. Go back in time. Kill her in front of you again, and again and again."  
Snart's going to kill Mick. Even if he has to tear the metal bar that's stopping him from the ground. He can't let him kill Lisa! Snart will kill himself before he lets that happen!  
"Sir, several anomalies in the Time Line suggest that the Waverider has touched down in Nanda Parbat" The voice of the Time Ship stops Snart's struggles.  
"Chart a course."  
Breathe. It's the only thing Snart can focus on that makes sense.  
"I used to think the most beautiful thing on earth was fire. Now I know, it's vengeance."  
Mick is going to kill the rest of the team. Then he's going to murder Snart's sister while simultaneously torturing him.  
He should have killed his partner after all.

Mick goes to the back of the ship where there's a more secure place to Time Jump.  
Snart holds onto the bar as tightly as he can and forces the side affects down with all the emotions rolling in his gut.  
FEELINGS won't help him. He needs a clear mind to figure out how to stop his ex-partner.  
Snart doubts the others will be able to stop Mick.

 

They make it to wherever the others are. Snart has to figure out a how to get free.  
"Would you mind loosening these up a little but before you leave?"  
Maybe brainwashed Mick doesn't know Snart's gift at getting out of restraints.  
Apparently, he does. At least they aren't like the ones in their Time Line. Snart's ex-partner would have tightened them until they cut into his wrists.  
Let's try something else.  
"Just out of curiosity, what do you think your new masters are gonna do with you once you deliver the team up to them?"  
Come on, Mick. Think about it.  
"I don't expect there's a pension plan for old bounty hunters..." With no one to hunt. "Once they get what they want from you, they're gonna toss you aside."  
"Like you tossed me aside?"  
Low blow and not even the whole truth.  
"You and I both made choices that lead us to this moment. What matters, Mick, is your next move. And I'm willing to bet, that some little piece of the old you is in that armor. Somewhere."  
Maybe in the boot.  
"No. You're wrong."  
Mick puts on the Chronos helmet.

"See you soon, Snart."  
Snart cringes.  
If the universe, or whatever, didn't want him to have connections with other people FINE. Snart will build up walls so strong, HE won't even know how to take them down.  
The world can spin all by itself without Leonard Snart.

 

Snart wiggles his cuffed hands around the bend of the pole. He slides them down and reaches a support.  
Wonder if... Snart hits the support once, twice-it gives.  
Take that futuristic Time Ship!  
A few more inches, another broken support. Now Snart's at the other side of the railing.  
He looks around. There's no one else back there, just like he thought, but he sees his gun resting on a plastic looking shelf.  
Reaching as far as the cuffs allow, Snart kicks at the bottom of the shelf until he can get his foot to pull the Cold Gun off the shelf and to the ground.  
The weapon makes a noise as if in protest and Snart drags ot closer to himself.  
Now that he has it. What next?  
Snart looks to the gun, then to the handcuffs.  
There's no way to tell what the cuffs are made of. With all the metallic science Mr. Perfect and the professor keep spouting, there's a good chance shooting the cuffs or the pipe will only make things worse.  
That leaves Snart with only one last option.

Snart drops to his back, kicking off a shoe so he can use his foot to pull the trigger.  
It takes some doing, but he eventually manages to charge the gun and aim it. Snart moves his target away from himself as much as he can.  
He takes a breath.  
Snart fires.  
He shouts as the blue light of the Cold Gun hits his hand.  
Is this what Barry felt every time he shot him? It's a wonder Scarlett claimed to see any good in him.

Why did something so cold feel like it was burning the flesh off the bone?  
When Snart is certain his hand is completely frozen, he stop firing. He pushes the weapon away so he doesn't accidently fire again.

Snart breathes through the pain. It's a welcomed feeling to what was hurting him inside, but it was still torturous.  
Part One: Done.  
Snart pulls himself up to his knees and brings his iced hand to his face.  
He's right handed. Things'll be harder to deal with in the future, but he'll adapt.  
Steeling himself, Snart rams his hand to the ground.  
His hand shatters and he cries out in pain again.

There must have been some nerves still functioning in the icy appendage.

It takes a few breaths and a growl of determination, but Snart gets his shoe back on, holsters his gun with his left hand, and runs out of the ship.  
Chronos had made a path for him to follow. He can feel the familiar Bonds of the team and they call to him like a beacon to where they're fighting his ex-partner.  
"You son of a-" Firestorm's about to hit Chronos with his flames.  
Snart clutches his stub tightly as he shouts, "Don't do it!"  
He looks at the blended Bond-Mates, "Don't kill him."  
Did that just come out of his mouth? Why was he still trying to save Mick?  
"Snart?" The kid and professor are both relieved to see him, while the others are surprised and confused.  
"Sorry, don't kill Chronos?" Rip asks angrily.  
"He's not Chronos." They can't kill Mick without knowing it's him.  
His partner deserves to meet his end as himself. Not who the Time Manipulators made him.  
"Show him." Snart orders Mick, but his ex-partner doesn't move.  
Snart looks up to the Bond-Mates and nods to the kid.  
Firestorm grabs a hold of the helmet and pulls it off.  
The whole team stare in disbelief.  
Mick crawls to his weapon in a last ditch effort to fight back, but Sara kicks him in the head, knocking him out.  
Maybe all the head trauma Mick suffered made it easier for the Time Loathes to morph his mind.

"What's going on?" Sara asks, eyes going from Rip to Snart for an explanation.  
"How is Mick, Chronos?" Kendra adds.  
"The affect this must have had on the Time Line..." Raymond starts to mumble under his breath while he tries to figure it out.  
"Not really the time or place," Snart grounds out. His arm aches as he tries to grip it tighter.  
"We have to get him back to the ship before he wakes up and tries to kill us again," Bright Eyes agreed. "I'll carry him."  
Snart turns, rolling against the wall and out the door. The world is spinning and he closes his eyes.  
"Snart?" Jax touches his elbow lightly to get his attention, he had separated from the professor. The kid looks at Snart's stump. "What the-"  
"Later, kid." Snart growls, pushing off the wall to show him he isn't weak. "Make sure Raymond gets Mick to the brig. I don't trust him to do it alone."  
Then he left the worried and confused kid to go to the Waverider.

Rip and Sara stay behind to talk to the assassin head honcho. The others go to their rooms while Snart waits in the brig for Mick to wake.  
When he does, Gideon makes sure to inform the others. Snart hides his frozen stump in his jacket. His ex-partner waits for everyone to enter the room before he starts threatening them.  
"You think this is all over. I will kill every single one of you. I will watch you all burn!" That's a phrase Snart's all too familiar with. Maybe he's right about a part of his partner still being in there.  
Mick turns to Snart, "You! You should have killed me when you had the chance."  
Maybe, but Mick still wants to kill him. He's still a threat to Lisa.  
Snart will have to kill him for real this time.  
Rip activates something inside the brig, which makes a light turn red and causes Mick to calm down.  
"You owe us an explanation." Yeah, well...  
"Yes, it's quite remarkable Mr. Rory is working for the Time Masters, considering, you killed him." Upset, Prof? Weren't you angry before at the idea of Snart 'taking care' of Mick before? Now you're upset that he didn't do it?  
You're as backwards as Rip.  
"If you think back, I never actually said I killed him." Snart didn't really say much about it at all.  
"No you just let us think that you did."  
"I didn't have to try too hard, did I?" The 'team' is upset that he isn't a cold-blooded killer. What an interesting twist in their 'goody-goody' attitude they try to project.  
Snart doesn't need them to remind him what a mistake he's made letting his partner turn murdering bounty hunter.  
"But maybe I should've. At least he wouldn't have ended up a chew toy for the Time Masters."  
"But if you did, we wouldn't have had this opportunity."  
"Opportunity?" Raymond's voice echoes Snart's thoughts. "To do what?"  
Rip turns to the glass-like cell and poses. "To reform Mr. Rory."  
The man was an idiot. Did he think people had a reset button? Did he have his own brainwashing machine aboard the ship?  
"He killed Aldus." Kendra says angrily. It doesn't deter the captain.  
"Under the influence of the Time Masters."  
"Chronos killed Aldus," Stein agrees with the idiot. "Mr. Rory was fighting on our side that day."  
"I know what it's like to be trained by an organization for one purpose. To kill. The kind of loyalty that can inspire." Sara's on board with 'Let's save Mick' plan too. "I need to know we can reach Rory. For my own sake."  
These people. Where was their loyalty when Mick gave them up to the pirates?  
"Time Masters took one of our own and turned him against us." Stein's taking over Rip's job as the empowering speech maker. "I say, we undo their handiwork."  
"Rory saved my life, back in the Gulag. He's more than just a criminal and an arsonist." Friendship isn't going to bring Mick back, Mr. Positive.  
"He's a member of our team."  
"He's a lost cause!" This is getting ridiculous. Kendra is the only other one who isn't jumping at the bit to try to save the man who wants them all dead.  
"Ah, I wouldn't be too sure about that." Rip is all confidence as he turns back to the others and lowers his voice to dramatically add, "You will see that miracles abound on this old Time Ship."  
The man looks back to Mick like he's some sort of pet project.

They're all fools.  
But a part of Snart hopes that they're right.  
For Lisa's sake.  
And his own.

 

"With me, Mr. Snart," Rip tells him as they all file out of the room. "Let's have Gideon take a look at that arm of yourself."  
Snart follows the other to MedBay. His arm still aches and will probably have to be operated on to properly seal it or something. He isn't a medical genius. A frozen off arm is beyond his medical understanding.  
Rip seats him in the chair and puts the little medical bracelet on his other wrist. The man practically dances around the room as he starts pushing buttons and pulls out a white table that he has Snart put his stub on and the attached pencil looking thing lights up blue.  
"Gideon. Start the regeneration process."  
Snart jerks his head to the man, "What do you mean 'regeneration'?"  
"Uh-I took genetic samples from each of you at the start of our voyage for this exact eventuality." The Time Oaf expected them to take such drastic measures? Did the man's stupidity have an end? Honestly, did it?  
Also, "Why am I only hearing about this now?"  
"Because none of you had lost a limb yet."  
Fair point.  
The machine buzzes and whines as it comes to life. Something pinches harshly where Snart's stub was and he can't help the, "Ow," that comes out of his mouth.  
Pain takes a back chair as Snart watches bones grow right before his eyes. They're followed by veins, tendons, and all those things they taught him in health class on the rare days he actually paid any attention.  
It's as interesting as it is disgusting to watch.

A hand materializes as if by magic and the blue lasers stop roving over Snart. He wiggles his fingers, because he can't quite feel his hand yet.  
Rip laughs and Snart has the sudden urge to hit him.  
Just to make sure the hand was real, of course.  
Snart tilts his head, pulling the hand away from the blue light to see if his Bond-Mark was there too. 

The Mark was there, plain as day to Snart. For the first time in his life, he was relieved to see it. He wasn't sure if he could handle another loss. Even a small one. Snart stroked the mark on the new hand gently. If he were a scientist, he would wonder if Bond-Marks were genetic. Maybe they could be manipulated. Oh, great, something else for madmen to destroy. It better not be true. If it was and someone like Savage, or even the Time Masters, got their hands on that information... It sent a chill down Snart's spine. 

"I'll meet you on the bridge." Rip tells him, boucing out of the room like a child who's been praised by their parents.  
Snart runs one hand over the other, feeling his own touch as he moves his re-grown apendage.  
"Thanks, Gideon." He says, because he doesn't think the Time Dope deserves it.  
"You are welcome, Mr. Snart." The AI pipes up cheerfully.

 

Snart makes it through the doorway the same time Kendra and Raymond walk in.  
"I believe we're ready to leave 1960."  
"And go where? I mean, when." Sara's exhausted. Snart still hasn't been filled in on what happened to the others while he was busy being kidnapped.  
"2147." Rip's answer is immediate. Pre-planned, like he was holding this date back for a while. Waiting for them to fail a few times before using it.  
"Mere decades before Vandal Savage conquered the world."  
Yeah, "Thought you had no idea where he was."  
Another lie Rip? What a surprise.  
"You said Savage had been lost to history."  
"Not world changing history." Great. What war did he start this time? "Records of the period are scarce, but I've always known that Vandal Savage could be located in 2147."  
"So, why haven't you told us this sooner?" Good question, Jax.  
"Because that period of history is fraught with more peril than I was willing to risk." Meaning, he was too scared for his own hide ot go there first if there was a hope of them beating the monster at another time. "We have no choice. We're to stop Vandal Savage in 2147, or to die trying."  
Ha! Snart doesn't believe for a second that Captain Selfish would give his life for this mission. If he died, who would 'save the world'?  
"Well, I've died before."  
Not sure your new boyfriend is too chipper about you saying that, Birdie. Those two felt more connected than when Snart saw them last.  
"So have I."  
Sara's need for self-sacrifice was probably born out of honor or another assassin idiosyncrasy.  
But Snart's feeling just as suicidal, so he'll go along with it.  
Anything to put his mind off Mick.  
Stein and Jax don't voice their complaints either so Rip tells the AI to take them to their next destination.

They all get to their chairs. The sight of the empty one next to Snart hits him like a blow and he closes his eyes.  
"The year 2147."

 

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATE!: Thanks to "TKDGirl2016" & "nirejseki" for your Comments & Votes!  
> {*The poles are closed.*} ^_^
> 
> Okay! Let's have some help from our audience!  
> I can't decide (it's horrible and driving me crazy): does Snart still have his Mark?  
> My brain is totally okay with either way, so I'll let those who are reading this (and maybe left Kudos?) decide for me.  
> The answer may/may not affect how Snart handles the next Chapter, so I'll give it a while to see if anyone says anything.  
> If I get no answer, which is FINE! (Honest.) Then I might just leave it as it is.


	10. "Progeny" (Ep. 10)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry. (For a variety of things and reasons.)  
> This Chapter is...odd... I've been writing nice Leonard for so long, I'm not sure if I've re-captured negative(?) Snart.  
> HUGE piece of made-up work in the beginning, then mostly episode-based stuff.   
> The "MAIN" thing to remember, is that Snart is trying to separate himself from the others so that he doesn't have to "feel" anymore. He's got the 'guilt's something fierce and it changes how he views things for a while.  
> Then there's a Mick beat-down and he sort of comes out of it. (SPOILERS! But you've probably seen the episode by now.)

Barry laughed.  
The day Snart told the speedster about his Infinite-Bond, the hero had laughed.  
It was a full on, bend over, hit-your-knee, can barely hold anything back, laugh that had Snart's trigger finger twitching in the Cold Gun.  
He almost shot Barry. Several times.  
Maybe he should have.  
"I fail to see what's so funny, Scarlet," Snart had drawled, nearly pulling out the weapon to at least threaten the hero with it.  
"I'm sorry," Barry wheezed while he tried to force himself to stop. "I am so sorry, honest, it's just."  
The hero finally straightens, shaking his head as he went, "I knew it."  
"What?" Snart frowned, wondering if it was possible for people to tell after all.  
"I KNEW there was good in you, Snart," Barry smiled. "You are literally capable of being everyone's best friend."  
"I highly doubt that, Barry," Snart rolled his eyes. "I'm not the friendly, feel-good type."  
"Just think of all the good you could-"  
"Not interested," Snart had cut the hero off before he could even try convincing him to change. 'Be a better man' and all that drivel.  
"But-"  
"Goat's butt, you run around like a high strung teenager," Snart countered the hero again, smirking at the other's growing frustration. It was so much better than having the speedster laugh at him.  
"Why did you even bother to tell me then?" Barry had raised his hands in the air, turning slightly as if there was someone else in the abandoned alleyway who would back him up.  
"Because you saved Lisa. Because I had the annoying, nagging feeling of owing you and I hate owing anyone," Snart drawled, then his voice lowered. "Because you asked."  
Barry had asked. Had wondered what was wrong with Snart's Bond and if there was anything he could do to 'help.' Foolish, kid, always rushing around to get into other people's business.  
If he was honest with himself, Snart didn't really know why he ever told the speedster anything. Maybe he was looking for something to use against the hero, to make the other think twice about going after him, judging him, arresting him...   
Maybe he was tired of keeping the secret.   
Something changed in the way Barry was looking at him. Going from frustration and confusion to sympathy. What was he thinking now?  
"What?" Snart sighed, waiting for the pity. He hated pity. Didn't need it.  
"It really bothers you," the hero observed. "Having this legendary Bond. It really ticks you off."  
That got Snart angry.   
"Of course!" he had barked, taking a small step closer. "Can you imagine having the crap beat out of you from a man you were Bonding with?"  
When attacking, sometimes it was best to go straight for the throat.  
Barry's eyes had grown large, his imagination playing behind those saucers.  
"Yeah." Snart smiled viciously, showing teeth. "Not such a great thing after all, now is it?"  
"Still," the hero pulled himself together valiantly, eyes still soft. "Your past doesn't have to direct your future steps."  
"Get that from a cookie, did you?" Snart shook his head.  
"Your childhood sucked, so did mine," Barry continued on, determined. "but why fight it now?"  
"For the same reason you and that reporter, Iris, are desperately trying to avoid your own Bond."  
"How-?"  
"To me, all Bonds are obvious."  
"Iris and Eddy were together."  
"They weren't Bond-Mates."  
"Iris has always been a forward thinker. She didn't let the destiny of a Bond hold her back from loving someone."  
"I'm no advocate for destiny or following your Bond. I'm just saying the blonde detective is dead, so you two shouldn't be dancing around each other anymore."  
"There are other reasons."  
"There always are, Barry."

The hero sighed, defeated. Finally, they could stop talking about it and Snart could leave. Then the speedster had chuckled and Snart groaned inwardly.  
"I can't wait to tell Cisco," Barry smiled to himself.  
"Don't you dare." Snart had glared, breathing harder with the sudden flare of anger. "If you so much as think about it in another's presence, I'll ice you, put you in front of a million cameras while you're dressed as The Flash and rip off your cowl. Then, while the cameras are still rolling, I'll get you and Iris to make out."  
Barry blinked, surprised at the sudden ferocity of the other man's words.   
Also his choice of threats.  
The last, completely ridiculous, threat was just to make the speedster literally go scarlet.  
"See if you can avoid your Bond after that."

Not wanting to waste any more time with the hero, people might talk, Snart had turned to leave.  
"Can I feel it?" Barry had asked as the criminal moved.  
"No," Snart deadpanned, walking away.  
"Oh, come on!" the hero followed after him. "I'll make it fast."  
"Not even a micro-second."  
"I could do it so fast, you wouldn't even notice."  
"I'd notice."  
The speedster had prancing on his tip toes after the criminal like a toddler excited about getting a new toy. It didn't help his case.   
"Please?"  
"We're not friends, Barry."  
"But we could be?"  
"Pass."  
Snart turned an icy glare to the hero before letting himself be pulled into mid-day foot traffic, effectively escaping the other man......

 

Snart opened his eyes as the memory ends. He didn't dream anymore. He just closed his eyes and re-lived the past.  
At least it was better than his nightmares.

Flexing his re-grown hand, Snart carefully builds up walls from the Bonds he can feel inside the tin can he was trapped in. Especially the burning one in the brig.  
He can't afford to allow himself to be drawn in and distracted anymore. He already lost his partner to the Time Manipulators. The others were confident they could 'get Mick back' but where do you start with someone determined to kill you?  
The last piece of the wall slides into place and Snart takes in a deep breath, holds it, then lets it out.   
The others won't even notice the difference.

 

Kasnia Conglomerate. 2147.  
The future is full of greys and dark blues. Not that Snart cares. He joins the group on their merry jaunt into the new Time Line.   
Kendra decides to stay on board. Either to get away from the people who want to rescue the man who killed her 'beloved' or to stay out of the clutches of the maniac who enjoys killing her every chance he gets.  
Sara and Jax are excited to bring Stein and Raymond out like they were the new owners of a pair of puppies. The degrading thought doesn't bring as much joy as Snart thought it would.   
With every step, his mind focuses away from the man in the big at the Waverider.   
"The future it's-"  
"Astonishing!" - "Fascinating!"  
"Well, it was a fifty-fifty chance which one he'd choose."  
"Actually, I was gonna say 'remarkable'."   
"Isn't it?" Time for Rip to tell them why they're there. "2147 was considered the world's 'zenith'," the Time Man emphasizes the word. "All of these people have five good years to look forward to."  
Dramatic pause so that someone can ask, and Snart takes the job, "Before what?"  
"Before a ruthless dictator named Per Degaton comes to power, releases the Armageddon virus and most of them end up dead."  
Sara's childish glee at seeing the future is turned sour at the man's words.  
"Well, that's depressing."  
Three robotic versions of Bright Eyes' suit comes flying into the vicinity.  
"Woah!" The kid is surprised and impressed at the robots.  
"Is that my suit?" Raymond is a little more hesitant to get excited about seeing 'another version' of himself. He can't seem to believe his own eyes, "It's my suit."  
A woman screams. Snart's eyes dart over to where a petty thief has stolen the woman's purse and is making a run for it.   
Idiot.   
The robots shoot him with a red laser, causing shock to spread through some of the 'team', then they all get a front row seat of how 'the law' handles the crooks of this Time Line.  
The sudden, almost brutal, attack on a man who only stole a purse is not pleasing to the man who most likely made their predecessor.   
"Doesn't look like progress to me."

 

Time to split up.   
Martin, Jax, and Raymond are going to look into the robot police while Sara, Rip and Snart are going to look for Savage.  
Snart pulls his hands out of the deep recesses of his pockets in case he needs them to 'borrow' something in the last second.   
They're in one of the soaring skyscrapers to crash a board meeting of father Degaton.  
"And it's open to the public?"  
Snart doubts it. If the man is so extreme about his 'safety' measures to the point of using robotic policemen, then the crook highly doubts he'll let just anyone into his special meetings.  
"Of course not."  
Knew it.  
"Just Kasnia share holders."  
Just another point of fact that money can get you into places.  
"I hate to break it to you, but, we're not share holders."  
"I'm more of a hard asset man myself." Diamonds, gems, cash, paintings, stolen gear.   
Rip turns away from the security to show them some black box with a look like they should know what it is. While the man puts on his contact lens, Snart looks over to the security. He sees the retinal scanner, hence the lenses, tries to see beyond the entranceway and possible weaknesses in the security.  
Rip confidently goes up to the Bonded guard who scans his eye.  
"You're clear to attend." Rip thinks he's clever for a seconds then. "They'll have to wait outside."  
"Oh, no, this is my accountant and she is my personal asist-." Rip looks at Sara, wisely re-thinks her fake job. "bodyguard."  
"Stock holders only."  
Snart's not surprised. Some people actually know the definition of the word 'only'.   
Rip gives them 'a look' then goes inside. Sara and Snart turn to each other then move out of the way for the other people.

Snart finds a good place to lean, somewhere out of clear camera view and still close enough to the bumbling captain in case he needs back-up or messes up the mission early.  
He crosses his arms and closes his eyes.   
The world is so much duller with his wall up. It blocks out almost every Bond that comes near him and most of what they're feeling. He still knows they're there, there isn't a mind strong enough to completely block them out, but their presence isn't remotely as burdensome as they'd regularly be.

 

When Rip comes back, he is not happy. He refuses to talk about it until they get back to the ship. Once in his little side room, he lets them know that the immortal psychopath is trying his hand at home education.  
"He's a teacher." Sara double checks that she heard the man right.  
"A tutor," Like that word makes much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. "It would seem, to young Per Degaton himself."  
The Time Monkey is way too worked up for that one piece of information. He's keeping something from them, so Snart's going to make sure he knows what.  
"You say that like it's supposed to mean something."  
Share with the others, Rip.  
Begrudgingly, he does: "After the death of his father, in five years time, Per Degaton unleashes the Armageddon virus which decimates the world's population; leaving it right for conquest."  
Dad's really know how to mess the world up, don't they? Mess their kids up even more. The little snot gets all emotional about his daddy going away that he decides to off a slew of people?  
"Per Degaton primes the world for dictatorship. And then when the time is right!" Snart wonders if Rip should have become a dramatic story teller, instead of a Time Traveler. "Savage snatches that power away from him."  
"By killing Per Degaton."  
"Indeed."  
Kendra speaks up, "Okay, so we don't have what we need to take out Savage, but maybe now we can figure out a way to stop his rise to power."  
"By depriving him of the springboard: Per Degaton." Rip agrees.  
Snart realizes the reason why the man held this Time Line back.   
"Okay. How do we do that?"  
It was a less about 'bodily' self-preservation and more about 'moral or 'mental' self-preservation.  
"It's quite simple really."   
Snart smiles. He wonders if the Time Moron had any other mission tactics than 'leave behind' and 'kill'. The crook decides to be the one to tell the ladies. (Instead of waiting for the frowning idiot to explain.)  
"We kill the little monster ourselves."   
Kendra is shocked and disappointed in their 'leader'. Sara nearly rolls her eyes at the man's ridiculousness. The assassin is probably just as tired to hear another kill order from a man who's trying to defeat a murderer.  
Snart can't find the strength to care.

"I'm getting the others." Sara announces, leaving the room. She's not about to let Rip kill the kid behind their backs.

 

"To be clear," Stein's anger is barely being kept back with his words. "We are talking about murdering," The scientist has to pause to try to calm himself. "A child!"  
"Who hasn't done anything to anyone."  
"Yet." Why can't they see beyond the present? "So why don't we pick him off now, while the pickin's easy?"  
"There's got to be a better way."  
After all, their previous kill-that-person plans went "SO" well.  
"How do we even know that this Per Degaton kid's path to becoming a world ruling dictator is inevitable?"  
"Because," Yes, Rip, tell us all about it. "In the future that I'm from, children learn about Per Degaton in the same way that children in your time learn about Adolf Hitler."  
"What about the larger societal problems that would allow such a desperate's rise to power?"  
Blah, blah, big words, "We already know what pushes this punk to the dark side." Snart really knows the brat wouldn't go crazy just because his old man died. All problems lead to one person: "Savage."   
"Look it's not the kid's fault he's got an immortal psychopath as a tutor."  
Everyone's responsible for their choices.   
In the brat's case? Even ones they haven't made yet.  
"We don't kill the kid now, Savage will. As soon as he's done using him to take over the world." They're doing the kid a favor. At least this way he won't have to be the focal point of the world's destruction.  
"If he doesn't build up to become the greatest tyrant the world has ever know, Savage can't become the last tyrant the world has ever known."  
Bright Eyes sighs but doesn't make a comment.  
"Murdering a child," There's a tremor in Stein's voice. "in cold blood, just like Savage murdered your own son? What's the use in saving the world if we 'stoop' to his methods to do so?"   
No need to cry, Professor. It looks like you're getting to the Time Moron.  
Bright Eyes sighs again, "I'm with professor Stein.  
"Okay, fine!" Snart didn't really think the others would allow such a plan to happen. Too soft. Too disgustingly heroic. "If you all don't have the guts to kill this kid."  
"Then removing him from the Time Line 'might'-" Rip needlessly emphasizes the word. "be the next best thing."  
"Great, we've gone from infanticide to child abduction. Progress."  
Well, we have to do SOMETHING, Raymond. Or do you prefer to let millions of people die off for the sake of one evil brat?  
"But first we need to devise how to abduct him from underneath the noses of his father's private guard."  
Shouldn't be too hard. Even so far in the future, all security measures have a flaw.  
"And don't forget the army of ATOM robots."   
Are you proud of those flying brutality machines?  
"We're going to need an accomplished thief." Rip looks to Snart.  
That's what he's here for, after all.  
"While you're kidnapping baby Hitler, Professor Stein and I will sabotage the robot army."  
Jax jumps on that plan, "I call Team Robot Army."  
"Isn't that a waste of time?"  
"Not for the Kasnian citizens who are tormented by my technology." From what they saw, only those who broke the rules were 'tormented' but it's nice to know the scientist had the criminal's backs.  
"That technology does lead to Savage's rise to power." Point of Approval. "Good back-up plan."  
Sara glares. "Fine. Team Kidnapping."  
Rip raises his fist, "Go team."  
They all leave, except for Bright Eyes and Birdie. Couples therapy time?

 

As Snart suspected, there's a simple flaw to security. All they have to do is ambush the kid while he's going from one building to the next.   
Slip in. Grab. Slip out.   
Easy.

 

Snart waits in his position.  
"No litter. No street crime. No smog." Nothing remotely homey. "How soon can we leave?"  
"Keep you eyes peeled." Sara remarks from her spot on the roof. "According to Gideon, Per Degaton should be passing through any minute on his way to gymnastics class."  
"Are you telling me future Hitler is enrolled in a gymnastics class?" Is flexibility a pre-requisite for conquering the world?  
Snart slips on the fancy future glasses to get a look at what he's working with.  
"Ye-es," he approves. Maybe he can sneak a pair into his personal belongings.   
Who's he kidding? Of course he can.  
Then Per Degaton and his goons come out to play.  
"I've got eyes on little Lord FolknerRoy."   
"I don't see him." Doesn't mean he isn't there.  
"It's because he's surrounded by Daddy's goon squad." And because the kid's short. "Northeast corner of the plaza."  
"Got him."  
"Are you sure you don't wanna just shoot him?" She has the gun trained on the brat already. It would, "Be a whole lot easier."  
"Stick to the plan." Rip growls. Why is he getting angry? That was his original plan, after all. "Both of you."  
When did Sara jump up and down at the chance to kill someone?   
Did Rip pay ANY attention to the things that happened around his 'crew'?

One shot. One man down. No one even notices.  
"I'm in position. It's up to you now Mr. Snart."  
It's not his plan and yet the Time Oaf can't help but try to take over control.  
Snart waits on the bench for them to get close enough. Watches them with his peripheral vision until just the right moment...  
Snart stands. One, two shots to the first guard before they know they're being attacked. Another shoots at him, but misses and Snart gets him right after. Only two left and Rip is close enough to the other guy to handle him.   
Snart's last goon is wise enough to hide behind something, but when the crook pretends to give up, the man turns out to be an idiot and steps out from his cover so that he can be shot just like his buddies.  
Rip hits the kid with his 'flash and make you fall asleep' gun, then carries the kid over his shoulder while Snart keeps an eye out for suspicious onlookers. Sara catches up with them a few moments later and they all make their way back to the ship.

Apparently, Gideon can monitor their dreams.  
Wonderful.  
Snart grimaces from his spot near the wall just outside the MedBay's open doors.  
Then he finds out that kidnapping the brat did nothing to improve the time line and Snart's grimace turns into a scowl.

 

Rip tells the rest of the team the bad news.  
"What do you mean it did nothing?"  
"I mean, that kidnapping Per Degaton had a nominal affect upon the Time Line."  
Nothing mean nothing, professor. Someone so smart shouldn't have a problem with such a simple word.  
They still have to figure out what to DO with the brat now. "Maybe we just need to dump the little brat somewhere he can't get into any trouble. Like the stone age."  
"No matter where and when you sequester him in the Time Line, Savage will still rise to power." Gideon doesn't offer up an alternative; just feeds them more bad news.  
"But Rip said this kid's like a baby Hitler."  
"Yes, I also said that time wants to happen." Why time wants the world to be decimated by a psychopath, they will never know. "A-and such a world changing event like Savage's rise to power can't be stopped merely by kidnapping his young," Rip pauses for the 'right' word, "Pawn."  
"So we're back to plan A." Should be easier since the brat's on board the ship now.  
"Snuffing out the kid out in his sleep?"   
We can wake him first if you really want.  
"Let us not forget that this," Rip once against struggles, "Kid." The Time Oaf seems to finds the word distasteful. "Will one day be responsible for 'billions'," Drive the fact in a little more, "of deaths." And the final touch, "Including those of my family."  
The true, honest, only reason Rip has brought this group together.   
Being so disconnected from everything makes Snart realize how Rip Hunter can be so heartless. There's an emptiness that you can't fill. A darkness that clouds your vision when faced with the reason why you are the way you are.  
The cold truth that you've lost something that you can't get back can drive a man to do anything.   
"Say that you do stop Savage and save the lives of your family." Stein looks to the captain's his pouty face. "Will you be able to look your own son in the eye, knowing what you did so he could live?"  
"When the alternative is, that I should never see him again..."  
"I got a better idea." Jax joins his Bond-Mate to change the Time Man's mind. "Instead of us arguing about whether we should kill him or where and when to dump him off, why don't we just talk to him?"  
Talk to him?  
"Savage has spent years corrupting his mind."  
That much crazy poured into a young mind can't possibly be fertile ground for noble reasoning.  
"It's not too late for Per Degaton to change."  
Naturally Sara would say that. She's already convinced she can save Mick. Why not a brat destined to terrorize the world?  
"Says who?"  
Honestly, Rip. Wasn't it obvious?  
"Says, someone with two tours at the League of Assassins and a case of blood lust under her belt." Sara leaves him at that. Lets him think it over.   
Good ole assassin. Breaking men even beyond their bodies.

 

Rip escapes on the Jump Ship with the little future dictator.   
Snart grabs a rubber ball out of one of his crates and starts bouncing it around.   
Thinking about how his hand shouldn't even exist gives his brain enough to wonder at instead of all the Bonds that want to be his friend.  
Bonds whose owners don't even realize what they're reaching out to.

 

Sara arrives in the cargo bay.  
Even with his walls, he knows it's her.  
"No luck finding our homicidal captain?"  
"Gideon's still searching but, I have a feeling Rip's not going to be found if he doesn't want to be."   
"So what are you doing down here?" Snart's fairly certain he already knows, but he hopes he's wrong.  
Sara smiles at him. Not wrong after all then. "Don't you think you at least owe him a conversation?"  
'Him' as in 'Mick'. The assassin wants the two criminals to get back together.  
How sweet.  
Is 'people need to talk things out' the lesson for todays failing mission?  
"We had our conversation while he was Chronos." When he threatened to kill Lisa. "And he made his feelings about me very clear."  
"And what about your feelings?"  
"About you?" Snart deflects instinctively. Hoping the blonde will take the bait.  
"About Mick."   
He should stop hoping. It does him absolutely nothing.  
"I don't have any feelings about Mick." Snart looks away from her knowing eyes. Rolls the ball against the ground with his hand as he stares at one of the Infinity Symbols.  
Sara releases a breath, crouches down. "Look it didn't seem that way when we were dying in the engine room of hypothermia."  
What can he say? Near-death experiences made him chatty.  
Besides. That was before.  
Before he found out how useless his Bond was.  
"Look if you wanna ease your guilty conscience, that's your business. But he's still the same man he was when you all wanted me to put him down."  
"I wasn't the one who mentioned marooning Rory. You did." Way to make a man feel good about himself, assassin. "It's obviously still weighing on your conscience." Snart glares at her, wishing she hadn't seen as much violence as she had so that it would make her stop. "So," She gets up. "Stop being an idiot. And go deal with it."  
Sara walks passed him and out of the room.   
Snart carelessly throws the ball, doesn't even bother trying to catch it as it passes him before bouncing over him and further into the reaches of the cargo bay.

Mick doesn't want his friendship. Mick doesn't need his friendship.  
Snart betrayed his partner, let him get snatched up by the Time Manipulators and changed into a weapon. 

He finds the ball and puts it back into his crate.   
He goes to the bridge.  
Sara frowns when he arrives. She knows he didn't go to see his partner, but at least she doesn't comment on it.  
The assassin is probably forming Part 2 of her 'Fix Things With Mick' speech.

 

The ship is attacked. Degaton Sr. is firing on them.  
"I'm afraid our shields will not be able to sustain continued bombardment."  
"You're afraid?"  
Yeah, how about the human lives INSIDE your metal walls?  
"Here's an idea, why don't you fire back?!"  
You have GUNS, you faulty program!  
"I would except-"  
"The flying robots already targeted our weapon's systems."   
Of course they did.  
"We don't need weapons."  
Has Raymond finally lost it?  
"He's right. We have super powers."   
Correction, Kendra and the Firestorm duo have powers. The rest of them have super powered toys or butt kicking abilities.   
But that doesn't stop them from gearing up and heading out to fight.

Snart shoots at a man then notices something near the body at his feet that looks a lot like a hand grenade. Even in the future, they kept their weapons recognizable. The button is easy enough to find, so he pushes it.  
"I think this is yours!"  
Snart throws it back. Since he's a 'good guy' now he has to return things that don't belong to him.  
It lands in right behind the two men in front of Savage, blowing them away and giving the crook a clear view of the maniac.

Snart keeps firing, focusing on the men attacking him while the others either take to the skies or Sara's leftovers.  
Somehow, the assassin fights her way back towards the crook and side-by-side they work to keep their attackers at bay. Raymond and Kendra go for the robotics HQ while Firestorm keeps the metallic pests busy.  
Snart keeps fighting with Sara, then the assassin runs for it as a robot looks like it's headed for them. Snart lifts his Cold Gun to shoot the thing, but before he can it rolls over like a dead fish and falls in a useless heap to the ground.   
"Looks like Raymond was able to sabotage his robot army."  
Points to Bright Eyes.  
"Which means mopping up the rest of these guys shouldn't be a problem."  
"Oh! It will be a problem." Savage has Sara at knife point. HOW ON EARTH did the maniac get to the assassin?!  
"What do you want?" Snart's heart aches. His Bond wants to reach out to the blonde's familiar one, but he refuses to let it out from behind his wall.  
"I want to exchange this woman's life for your captain." Deal. "Rip Hunter."  
"I have a better idea." Said captain announces his presence. "Her life in exchange for his."  
He brought the kid back. And the kid's alive, too. The grieving captain couldn't go through with his dark plan.  
Savage doesn't look too happy to see the kid alive. Interesting. Didn't he need the brat to conquer the world?   
"Your son will be returned to you, as soon as you guarantee our safe passage."  
"Don't do it father." Kid had guts. Makes sense that future tyrants wouldn't be the blubbering type. "You let them go now, they will only come back for us in the future."  
"It's your choice." Rip pulls back the hammer of his gun.  
"Your son is right. We should kill them all."   
All? As in the brat too?  
Degaton Sr. takes the knife, but Savage doesn't releases Sara yet. "Put down your weapons!"  
"No, father!"  
What's with the brat's self-sacrifice?  
"Let my son go and I will let you leave in peace." Per Degaton shakes his head minutely, but Snart sees it. Does the kid seriously WANT to die more than be rescued? "You have my word."  
Rip pushes the brat away. Per Degaton glances back at the Time Man as he moves towards his father.   
Savage shoves Sara away as well and the assassin turns back to glare at the maniac before coolly walking away.   
When Per Degaton pauses between Snart and Firestorm, the crook decides to offer the brat some advice, "Better find yourself a new mentor, kid."  
From what he's feeling from the future tyrant, he doubts his words are even heard.

They all get back to the ship and leave.

 

"Sara?" Snart tries, but the assassin walks away from him and to her own room.   
She's probably, and understandably, sore about being defeated by the psychotic murderer.   
He has the burning desire to get back at the monster.  
Burning.  
Mick.  
Sighing, Snart puts his Cold Gun away.  
He can't live like this.  
As annoying as having other Bonds flooding his senses it, he's so used to having them that being without them is surprisingly worse.  
While the others go to their own places to lick their wounds from their latest failure, Snart goes to the brig.  
It's about time he had that 'talk'.

 

Snart walks around the clear cell where his partner is. He feels the anger and confusion pouring off the man as he crosses his arms and turns to him.  
Mick breaks the silence first, "What do you want?"  
Snart takes a breath, "People seem to think we should have a heart-to-heart."  
Actually, it's just Sara. But she's still 'people'.  
"We don't have hearts. Where does that leave us?"  
"I've got a dozen reasons for killing you." The main one being that the man threatened his sister. "You've got a dozen and one for killing me. So-"  
"All the talk in the world's not gonna change a thing."  
Why didn't the others understand that?  
"Exactly, here's my proposal: I open this cell, we let our fists do the talking."  
Mick tilts his head slightly, attention fully on Snart now. He's interested.  
His partner stands, looks him over for a sign that this is a trick as he walks closer.   
Turning slightly as he asks, "When I kill you?"  
"You take the Jump Ship," Snart looks towards the exit doors closest to said ship. "Make your escape, live out the rest of your life," Snart shrugs slightly, turning his eyes back to his partner. "Anywhere you want."  
Mick's eyes move considering. He makes a noise then gives Snart a sarcastic version of a glare, "And if you kill me?" He rethinks the question. "Well, it's better than being locked up in this place like some kind of circus freak."  
Snart could really do without the theatrics. He just wants to get this over with.   
To stop feeling.  
To finally have some peace from the violence that reached throughout time.  
"I take that as a yes."  
"Sound the bell."

Snart opens the door and steps inside.

 

Mick hits him in the left of his face. Snart falls back then counters with a right punch of his own. Mick ducks it, then traps his arm and punches him in the left side of his face again. Snart once again falls back. Once again tries a right punch and lands it this time. His partner counters with a one-two punch to either side of his face, his fists hitting Snart like sledge hammer heads, before landing another blow right to his upper chest, almost at his shoulder. The severity of the last blow knocks the crook to his back. He rolls, gets to his hands and knees as he tries to stand. Mick grabs him and slams his back to the ground again.   
Snart looks up through the haze of pain at his partner. Mick's fist is shaking near his face. A face so full of anger and hurt and pain. Snart waits, wondering what death will feel like.  
/*"Lonely. Like, everybody I loved was a million miles away."*/

But then his partner lets him go. Drops to his side in defeat and Snart is once again reminded that the world isn't fair.  
"We had a deal, Mick." He reminds his partner. "Kill me and you walk."  
The blow to his chest was more severe than he realized. With just one hit, it feels like a rib's been broken and it's a little difficult to breath. But, then again, his nose is starting to swell as well, so maybe that's why. "It's what you wanted."  
When his partner remains silent, he pushes on, "Isn't it? To get off the team?"  
To be rid of the man who betrayed you?  
Snart realizes that it isn't his body that's making it so hard to talk. It's his walls breaking down. The ones he thought he firmly placed were more broken than the rib in his chest and hurt far more than his face did.  
"I don't know what I want anymore." Mick's gravely voice sounds a little broken. "Truth is it doesn't matter."  
Doesn't matter?  
"What are you talking about?" It's one thing if Snart dies. He doesn't care about that. But he doesn't want the others to die as well.  
"Whether I stay or leave. I'm dead." Mick looks at him. "We're all dead."

"Mr. Rory." Gideon sounds oddly solemn. "Mr. Snart needs immediate medical attention."  
"Can it, tin can." Snart orders the program. Even though extremely painful, the contact from Mick has re-formed their Bond. The physical pain is making it hard to push it down and Snart closes his eyes when the world spins.  
"Come on, Snart."  
Suddenly, the crook's in a sagging, upright position. In the back of his mind, Snart thinks he may have cried out in pain.  
"Let's get you patched up so I can tell your pals what they got us into now."  
Mick drags him to MedBay, then drops him onto the chair-bed where Gideon patches up his broken bones and administers pain killers.  
"There's nothing I can do about the bruising." Gideon states as the lights turn off. "They will have to heal naturally and with time."  
"Good." Mick grunts, grabbing Snart again. "Let's go."  
Snart feels like a rag doll as his partner drags him down the hallways to the bridge.

Rip's there, talking with Stein and Jax. The three turn wide eyes to them.  
"Snart!" Jax calls out, worried, as he tenses by his Bond-Mate's side. "Let him go, Rory."  
Rip draws his pistol and Stein remains close enough to the kid to form Firestorm if needed. Not that they would. They're traveling in the Time Stream and it would probably blow something up.  
Before a fight can break out, Snart decides to calm their fears.  
"It's okay." Snart tells them, reaching for a piece of the ship jutting out of the wall to rest upon. Mick releases him without a word. "I let him out."  
"Not your most enlightened idea, Mr. Snart." Stein remarks, frowning at the crook's injuries. "I take it your current physical state is the result of the two of you 'working things out'?"  
"Capital deduction, Stein." Mick mocks. "Now, if one of you will call the rest? I have something important to tell you."  
"Why should we trust anything that comes out of your mouth?" Jax asks. Which is a good question.  
"Because if I was going to go through with my threats, I would have sabotaged the engine room and escaped on the Jump Ship." Mick's answer is just as good.  
Convinced, Rip holsters his weapon and addresses the AI, "Gideon, please call the others to the bridge."  
"Right away, Captain."

"Leonard?" Sara stops next to the crook, looks his injuries over. "You okay?"  
"Peachy." He smirks, then winces when it hurts. "Better join the others. It's sharing time."  
The assassin takes a few steps away from Snart, but doesn't walk over to the gathered group near the computer table.

Mick starts his story, "Since I failed to bring you in, the Time Masters wanna bring me in. And this time, they're not gonna take any chances."  
"What does that mean?" Raymond frowns, eyes glancing over to Snart once or twice during Mick's speech.  
"They're called The hunters. Mercenaries. And unlike me, there isn't a human part left in them."  
"So they wanna lock us all up in the Vanishing Point."  
Even Bright Eyes knows that's more hopeful thinking than fact.  
"The Hunters do one thing: kill." Dramatic speeches mush be part of the training in Time Master school. "Whenever. Wherever. And they'll stop at nothing till every single one of us is erased from the face of history."  
Mick walks away from his spot to leave.  
"Do you have any suggestions as to how we might outsmart them, Mr. Rory?"  
"Run."

 

\---


End file.
